Erased
by Twilight Memories
Summary: Brago finds Sherry badly hurt and has found she's lost her memories along with her personality being altered.Now he must take care of her and try to get her memory back AND search for the culprit. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it...Sequel's out
1. Out in the Rain

_Hey again all you peeps! Now that i've finished my story "Sleeping Beauty", i started another fic! I've been wanting to do this one for a while... Now i finally can! (smiles reeeaally big). Yeah i know i alreayd have at least two others i'm working on, but what's the fun in not working on another?_

_OK, since I can't put too much in the summary box thingamajig, here's the full summary!_

**Brago finds Sherry badly wounded one day and has discovered she has lost her memories. Also, he has discovered that her personality has been altered, so she no longer acts like the Sherry she used to and she's constantly going through different mood swings. So now Brago is going to have to take care of her and try to get her memory back while searching for the one who did this to her all at the same time. It's a tough job, but _somebody_ has to do it...**

_Yeah... that's the full summary. Oh, and there just MIGHT be a few humor parts in this story, but that might be in later chapters when Sherry's going through her mood swings n' whatnot... Heeheehee! _

_Well now... I think i'm going to let you peeps read this story now. OK? OK! Have fun reading! AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW WHEN YOU'RE DONE!_

_Disclaimer: I've never owned it and i never will. And I'm sure everybody is curious to know what i'd do if i owned Zatch Bell! Well... THAT, my friends, you PROBABLY already know the answer to! (cackles evilly)_

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Erased

**Chapter 1**

**Out in the Rain**

I am Brago, a mamodo sent from the Mamodo World in a battle to become the Mamodo King. When I came here to this new realm, I had to choose a human partner that could read from a magical spell book of mine to help me perform spells.

Sherry Belmond… That is the human girl's name. My ally in this battle… The only one who can help me win. She is the human that can read from my book, and the only one who will help me.

When I first found her, she was about to be killed by another mamodo team. Sherry's friend was being controlled by a mamodo, whom she had paired up with unwillingly. Koko and Zophise… they are the team we are constantly looking for. After I saved Sherry's life, I promised her that I could get her friend back only on one condition – she make me king.

At first, the human girl refused to listen to me. So, I threatened to kill her loyal servant that's always following her around. Surely that would have made her change her mind… But I was wrong. Out of the two of us, I had more to lose. Without Sherry, I would lose all claims to the throne. I would have lost a chance that I could only get every 1,000 years… and I'm not at all patient, so if I had to wait, I wouldn't be able to tolerate it. I _have_ to become king! All Sherry would have lost was the measly life of her slave… But he's just an old man that'll kick the bucket any few years now, so why should it matter, anyway?

So… to keep me from having my way and controlling her, she threatened to kill herself. Yes, she was willing to take her own life away just to make sure that I didn't get what I wanted. No… Not what I want – what I need. I _need_ to become king!

Instead of taking her servant's life we made a deal. I suppose it wasn't so bad… But Sherry doesn't do my every command like some mamodos make their partners do. Sherry… was different. She refused to be manipulated like her friend had been. Her mind was set and she realized who had the most to lose …I was unable to control her.

Thunder rolled and lightning striked across the night sky. Turning my head to the side, I saw millions of droplets of water begin to fall down. It was raining…

…What time was it? Inside Sherry's mansion, which was right behind me, a large clock rang. The loud, droning sounds of its chiming hummed on eleven times.

Eleven times… It was eleven at night. My human companion had taught me a few things of her world, and soon I picked up on them. Who knows? It just might come in handy for battle or something just as important one day…

I blinked once and then twice and looked around. No sight of my book reader… Where the hell was she? Sherry had left the mansion earlier to go do some… business of some sort… I have no idea what it could be, but I could care less. Though I _do_ want to know _why_ she isn't here right now. Three hours ago… Sherry left three hours ago. Why wasn't she here now? Her word is normally honest and true, and she had told me that she should be back around ten.

Then where was she? She shouldn't be still out doing… whatever it was she was doing. I demanded to know! I do not want to risk having another mamodo team arrive and declare battle! What if she wasn't prepared? I will not take my chances! I want to know where the hell Sherry is right this instant!

Standing up from the bench I was resting on, I looked around. Currently I was outside on the Belmond mansion's deck. The roof shielded me from the pouring rain, but that really didn't matter. Water did not hurt me… So I began to walk down the steps out into the rain.

My black boots stepped into the now soggy ground. Puddles were beginning to appear everywhere and heaps of mud was beginning to form. Still, this didn't bother me. All it does is dirty my boots a little… They can be cleaned off, anyway. Not that it really matters…

As I head out onto the grounds of the mansion, I began to wonder where my book reader first went to. If I knew where she was headed… Then maybe I could find her quicker. Why didn't I listen to her when I had the chance…?

Lightning flashed across the sky up above me again. Immediately afterwards, thunder boomed across the area. Hmm… so the storm was exactly here, eh? Where the hell are you, Sherry?

My crimson gaze drifted across the street when I finally reached it. Sherry's old slave didn't take her… So who did? Perhaps she left alone… Yes, that was it. I remember watching her walk off, saying that she didn't feel like being driven someplace and that she'd rather go by foot.

The rain continued to fall down from the sky, and I looked up to it just in time to see another flash of light. Thunder echoed behind a few seconds later… This was a fairly fast storm… It's moving so quickly…

Sherry… Where are you? My thoughts traveled around and they were all about the one human blonde… Dammit, where is she? I know that she had told me where she was going, but yet again I found that I had not paid attention.

With an annoyed sigh I turned my head to the side. It'd already been at least five minutes since I started my search for the blonde… I continued my search with no avail.

Sherry, the human girl that had taught me many things in my stay in the human world, was now missing. She had been gone for a few hours, and I had no idea why. I cannot stand the thought of not knowing where she is for a long amount of time. If there was a battle, I would need her in order to send the other mamodo back to our realm.

Maybe I should concentrate and see if I could sense her anywhere around here… That should help me find her. Out near the edge of a group of trees I stopped in my tracks and closed my eyes, focused on Sherry. She was… somewhere west of where I am standing. This was useful, now why the hell hadn't I thought of using that skill before?

Wandering off to the side, I looked into the almost forest-like area. If there had been more trees, it would have been considered that. But it wasn't, so I just made my way into the darker area of the tree-infected area.

It was strange really, now that I began to think of it… Sherry had really changed me ever since I arrived here. Formerly I was very cold hearted – and I still am, too – but now I don't really act as bad… I used to kill without a thought but now I'll be hesitant to what I want to break. Stranger still, I find myself thinking differently of Sherry… but what could it be? Somehow… I care for Sherry…

Damn, she really has changed me…

Suddenly the scent of blood removed me from my thoughts, and I snapped my head around over to the side.

Blood… I smell blood, but where was it coming from? Closing my eyes, I could tell that there was somebody near from where I was standing…

…Sherry?

How… could it be her? I highly doubted that Sherry would have been so damaged that she had cut herself so I'd be able to pick up the smell of her blood. I'm sure that it was somebody else, and she just happened to be nearby. But still, I suppose it didn't hurt to take a look. After all, I _was_ looking for Sherry, so if it was her… I shook my head.

A minute passed by and yet still no sign of a single person, but I could see a small splash of blood against a tree. That's odd… what the hell is blood doing there? Perhaps if I followed where I could now sense this being, I'd find out what is up with all the red stains.

I continued to head on my way, now trying to figure out what was going on. Soon as I figured out where the blood's source was, I would go find Sherry.

Suddenly… I stopped walking, and stared right ahead of me. A figure was lying on the ground face down. The person had a large, pink dress and blonde hair. Blood and many scratches and injuries were seen all over feminine body…

An unexpected gasp escaped from my lips as my eyes widened and I ran over, now recognizing who the unconscious figure was. "Sherry!" I bellowed, dashing over to her side. No… This couldn't be! How the hell could she get so hurt like this?

Taking my hands, I slightly nudged the blonde to see if she would awake. My efforts proved fruitless so I rolled the human onto her back. A large gash could be seen on her shoulder, and the cloth around it was ripped and torn. The edges of the fabric were stained with the girl's red blood.

"Sherry," I repeated her name once again, yet there was still no response. Looking down, I noticed that my book was grasped in her hands, undamaged. Well, at least she saved one thing… But now I need to save her. Either way, if my book or Sherry gets out of the picture, then my chances for king would be gone…

What the hell is happening, I wondered to myself, why is my spell caster so wounded? I figured that the only way I could get her back to the mansion was to carry her… She seriously needed help…

I took my hand and slipped it under her back and my other under her legs. Lifting the girl up, I hoisted her onto my back, making sure I took the black book with me, too.

This has got to be the worst I've ever seen Sherry in… How'd she get so hurt?

As I picked her up, I could hear the blonde make a small mumbling sound. She moved no more afterwards, nor did she speak. Slightly turning my head around, I glanced at the passed out human.

"Sherry… What happened to you?"

As I slowly turned my head away to look in front of me, I thought I sensed another person nearby. Quickly my eyes averted to where I thought I sensed the being, but then suddenly the presence vanished.

Strange… But I had to get Sherry back to the mansion and get her cleaned up. So I began walking; the smell of blood was strong in my face, but I ignored it. The only thing focused on my mind now was Sherry.

But… What the hell happened…?

Sherry…

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_Ta da! There's the first chapter, i do hope you all like this story! I've had this in mind for a really long time and i really wanted to write about it! And if you don't read/review... (puppy dog eyes) PLEASE REVIEW!_

_Eh... Sorry 'bout that... -.-'_

_Anyway, seems like the episode of Zatch Bell that just aired tonight seemed to get really angsty at the end... Nya is so cute! Especially 'cause Nya is a kitty! I LOVE CATS!_

_...I really need to stop doing that... Well... PLEASE read and review? I guess my boredom is making me act all hyper... Eh. Oh well. :)_

_Well... i'm signing off. No flames, please! Either be nice or just do constuctive criticism! BYE!_

_-Twilight M._


	2. Clueless

_I am pissed. I am VERY pissed of at Cartoon Network. Details at the bottom. (growls) I AM GOING TO HATE THEM FOR THIS SO VERY MUCH!_

_Oh, and to **Jabber-Nut Foxypants**... I don't know if you're able to see this or not, considering you had to post a review in another story to tell me you can't view this.Well just in case you can, um, i really don't know what could be causing the problem. Sorry... Hope it works for you very soon!_

_Disclaimer: Don't own it. Don't sue me._

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Erased

**Chapter 2**

**Clueless**

It had been two days since I had brought Sherry back to her mansion. Her old slave tried to assist me when I carried her into the building, but as usual I snapped back saying that I could do it myself.

I had cleaned the blonde's wounds with a cloth that I had found. Hopefully the old man wouldn't mind all the blood stains on the rag… Oh well. I needed it. Besides, he could just go buy a new one, couldn't he?

Frowning, I looked down at my bookkeeper's face, which was blank due to her unconscious state. The flesh here hadn't been damaged too badly… except for one spot right on her forehead. There was a large bruise forming right there… I wonder what caused it.

Her breathing was slow… But at least she was still breathing and alive, thank Kami.

Sherry still hadn't woken up from her sleeping state. I wondered how long it would take her to awake from this coma. She needed to awake and heal because if she didn't, I wouldn't be able to win the crown!

Currently I was sitting on the edge of the human's bed, staring down at her face. How could she have been so hurt? It's preposterous! Sherry should have been able to defend herself quite easily or _at least_ get back to me on time if there was a fight.

Taking my right hand, I brushed away a bit of hair from the blonde's face and then wrapped it around my legs like my left hand. I stayed like this for a little while before I decided it was time to go find some food… It was around twelve thirty in the afternoon and I hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning…

-o-o-o-o-o-

I was walking back from the forest after eating some fish I found out near a river. So of course, I killed it, ate it, threw away the bones, and now I was heading back to check on Sherry. Damn, how often would I do this?

Now I was on the grounds again, walking up the pathway to the door. When I reached it I opened it up without knocking and walked right in. This place had become somewhat like my home now… So I could just barge on in whenever I wanted, right? Well it didn't matter whether I was granted permission to do it or not. I had the capability to do so, and no human could stop me, so why not?

The old man was off in the kitchen doing something, probably cleaning, again. I merely ignored this and waltzed on by. What was the big need of cleaning? It practically took forever to clean this entire mansion! What was the point? There were more important things to do than _clean_. Like taking care of Sherry…

After climbing the steps and heading to the blonde's room, I opened the door and stared at the bed, my eyes locked on it.

Sherry was gone.

What the hell? Now what? Her little slave couldn't possibly carry her off, so where was her current location?

My eyes suddenly averted over to the side, where I saw a shadow behind me. Quickly I spun around and grabbed the arm of the person, pulling them out to where I could see them.

I finally realized who it was when they looked up at me with sparkling sapphire eyes.

"Sherry?"

I was relieved. So she was alright… great, now all we needed to do is make sure that she is one hundred percent healed and ready for training as soon as—

"Who the hell are you?"

Eyes widening, I stared at the blonde with a blank look. "What?"

"I asked, 'who the hell are you?'" She jerked her hand from my grip which only made me stare even harder. "Next time you're gonna barge in and wake me up, why don't you—"

"Sherry, what _are_ you talking about? Of course you know me!" This was irritating. Why was she suddenly playing mind games with me? Idiotic ningen…

But her eyes, however, had no recollection of me whatsoever when I stared into them. People say that looking into one's eyes is like looking into their soul; and I certainly didn't see any recognition of me at all.

So… this was for real?

"You really don't know me?"

"Of course not!" she snapped. Her eyes were lit up, full of anger and voice full of strength. "I remember every person that I've met! I don't need anybody to help _me_!"

Suddenly her eyes changed and she looked down at the ground. When she spoke, her voice became much softer – almost timid-like, which didn't suit her.

"But… the thing is I don't remember anybody. Not even myself."

I knew my mouth went agape as she said this. "Sherry," I spoke, "Stop playing mind games and get back to your senses, woman! We've known each other for months now!"

My sudden outburst made her wince and shrink onto the ground with… fear?

"Stop being so mean!" she said, tears beginning to roll down her eyes.

Oh please… where'd she learn to act so dramatic?

"I didn't do anything to you," she said, now getting more upset. "I was just here, asleep, and then I woke up only to find _you_ here! Why are you here! You don't look human, get out!"

I clenched my teeth together with annoyance. I couldn't help it when my arm snatched hers as I jerked her forward, my face close to hers as I began to speak sharply. "Reason being Sherry, is that I'm _not_ human. You should know that! I'm a demon from the Mamodo World come here to fight in this world and you are to make me king!"

After this proclamation I slammed the human onto the ground. She immediately began bawling like I had never seen her do before. It was so… childish.

"You're such an ass hole!" she cried, pointing a finger at me. "I don't want to listen to you! GET OUT!"

"NO!" I roared. "You have no choice in the matter, get over it!"

"But I don't want to!" she said as she continued crying.

Instead of releasing more of my anger on her, I merely sighed. I didn't want to risk hurting her any further and losing my chance for king once and for all. Besides, I didn't really like seeing her crying into hysterics. It didn't suit her; this crying didn't suit her. This childlike attitude didn't suit her!

"Can't you just be nicer to me?" asked Sherry as she looked up at me with those deep blue eyes.

Again, I sighed, and placed my right hand over my eyes. "Alright… alright. Sherry, I'll be _nicer_ to you—" I hated that word, "—as long as you don't go crying like you've been doing for the past minute."

If I were to ever anticipate her next action, I sure as hell wouldn't expect this. She jumped up, squealed, and gave me a hug. A HUG!

"Oh, thank you!" she said, now laughing. Laughing…? What was with this girl today? "I shall not cry nor shall I lie! I shall be happy and never sappy!"

My brow was twitching, that was evident. "Just… shut up!" I pushed her off of me. OK, new number one rule: NEVER hug me.

After I pushed her off of me tears began to collect at the bottom of Sherry's eyes. "Oh… I'm sorry; I didn't mean to do that…" Taking her hands, she buried her face in them. I merely rolled my eyes.

Great… now I have to deal with an overemotional human… one that was already overemotional but has now became even more so!

Sherry then turned around and began to walk towards the door. I watched her with a crimson glare as she then stopped, turned around, and looked at me innocently.

"Can you help me find my way around? I'm lost."

"Can this wait?"

"… No…"

I sighed again. I cared for Sherry, but this was insane. How the hell did she lose her memories like she just did? Did it have something to do with her being so maimed and that large bruise on her forehead?

After all we've been through already, she remembers _nothing_! How could she!

This was going to be a _long_ day…

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_Yeah... lil' humor in this chapter if you even find this funny. Like i said before, this can/might be a mix of romance/angst/humor. Yep..._

_ANYWAY, onto what th HORRIBLE BAD NEWS IS! OK, for those who have read my other story 'A Gift from the Dark' know that i had a false update one day. Well, for those that read it, ever wonder what the false info was? Well, i had put up on there that Brago and Sherry wouldn't appear January 28, 2006 like i counted out they should, all because CN would be showing a batman movie last Saturday blocking out the new episode causing Brago and Sherry to be delayed even furhter.  
So i wrote that in the chapter i updated and then posted it up, but THEN i went ahead to check something again and ended up thinking that that was wrong information, so i had to delete the updated chapter and re-update it again later. WELL, turns out that all that information WAS correct. BRAGO AND SHERRY WON'T APPEAR THE DAY I COUNTED OUT THEY SHOULD ALL BECAUSE OF THAT BATMAN MOVIE THAT AIRED LAST SATURDAY! IT BLOCKED THE NEW EPISODE, which you know has now delayed Brago and Sherry. :-(  
__Yeah... so i'm upset about that. And my information WAS correct! Grr... Now we'll probably have to wait til February 'til they reappear. (mentally crying)_

_Yep... that's what happened. (sigh) Well, anyway... I also found out (this is not bad news) that Furigaro (whom appears in the 3rd manga) also appears in the anime! For those who read my one-shot 'Just a Little Worry' will know who he is or if they've read the 3rd manga. I just went on a website and found out that he appears... AND it's the scene where he's fighting with Brago and Sherry! (grins) I wonder if Brago's arm gets cut off in that scene? Ah well. Guess we'll have to wait til episode 51, 'cause that's when he appears! NOW IF ONLY THEY'D HAVE THEM APPEAR AGAIN SOON SO WE CAN SEE IT!_

_OK, i'm done with my ranting about those two. XD Now on to my reviewers!_

_**anonimize:** No... Zophise is a'he' in the American dub. But in the Japanese he's a girl. They made him transexual... x.x N' i think Nya might be a he, i haven't paid too much attention. -.-_

_**Computerfreak101:** All right, you got me, it is a mamodo... BUT I'M NOT SAYING WHO! Heeheehee:) Here's a nice chappy with some nice mood swings for ya!_

_**Hiei's ice angel:** That's good! Here's the next chapter!_

_**PsychicLunar: **Possible angst, eh? Goodness, i don't know what else they're gonna put in the next episode! More of the same angst from the last episode maybe? I dunno... We would know if it weren't for that Batman movie! Ah well. Tommorow's Saturday, so we get to see it... I hate waiting..., what about you?XD_

_**Sara:** Oh, it's alright! I might not be updating very much either next week 'cause I'll be at my Mom's place using her laptop, and i don't write stories on that! Ah well. 'Least she let's me come on this site. -.- Here's an update!_

_**Luminara Windu:** You have? Heh. Chapter 2 is served!_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:** What i have in store? You'll just have to find out. :) And uh... sorry to break the news to you, but this is going to be a BragoxSherry story._

_**Wolf of the Blue Moon:** Here's an update._

_**Crying White Wolf:** Eight hours? That must have been pure torture! Did you at least have something to entertain you for at least an hour? Well, here's the next chappy!_

_**MOMOluvsJR:** Here's the next chapter._

_**Blood of the Wolf:** Heh, don't worry, Sherry's saved! Sorta... her memory isn't, that's for sure! Heehee.._

_There's the next chapter, folks! Hope you liked it! READ AND REVIEW! And for those who read but don't review... (sticks out tongue)_

_I'm signin' off. BUH-BYE!_

_-Twi_


	3. Kicking and Screaming

_I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Not an angsty one, but i suppose that this is going to be one of the humorous chapters. Like i said, this story's gonna be a cross between romance, angst, and humor. Glad to see that some people foudn the last chapter funny at parts:)_

_Anyway, for those that like to see Brago getting tortured and Sherry acting like a complete 5-year old, i'm sure you'll like this chapter. (grins) Now why don't you peeps go read it now, 'kay?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell. I don't own ANYTHING related to it at all except for my own copies of the manga, the game, and a few trading cards. SO JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!_

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Erased

**Chapter 3**

**Kicking and Screaming**

"Can we PLEEEEAASE go and do something else now?" The whining voice of Sherry rang through my ears. I glared at her and shook my head.

"No."

"Oh... come on!" I could feel the blonde pulling against my arm. Kami, how long would I have to deal with this? She had been acting like a child since yesterday!

"I said no."

I had _tried_ to get Sherry to remember me and everything else since yesterday… Unfortunately all my efforts proved fruitless. She was much more complicated than she had previously been… especially since she was constantly going through mood swings, which, by the way, annoyed the hell outta me. Did she somehow get a split personality? I had heard her talking about them, before she started acting like this, of people gaining more than one persona and that there'd be a dominate one. I supposed that the dominant one of Sherry's was the more childlike one… if she had a split personality, that is. Sherry was constantly acting like a whiny, little—

"Say, did you know that the word 'braggadocio' means to brag and that it really sounds like your name?"

I turned my head to the side to look at her and stared.

…What… the… hell…?

Sherry's face had an innocent look to it. She stared at me with those vibrant blue eyes and blinked. "Can I call you Braggadocio?"

"NO!" I said irritably, clenching my fists. The blonde headed human pouted and crossed her arms.

"Fine. See if I care!"

"Sherry, would you stop acting like a child?" I asked in an exasperated tone. Anyone feel sorry for me? I had been going through this since she woke up.

What a nightmare…

After walking into Sherry's room, I walked over to a chair and sat down on it. I rested my head in my hands and watched as the other skipped into the room and began looking out the window into the darkness of the night. She commented something about crickets a few second afterwards… but I really didn't care. They were stupid bugs… what was so enjoyable about them?

"I like the sound of them," the blonde said as she turned her head away. "What about you?"

"Hn, I really don't care."

Sherry sighed and sat down on her bed a few feet away from where the window was. She stared at me fore a few moments before I felt myself getting slightly agitated… I had been getting that way a lot lately…

"Are you going to say something or are you just gong to stare?" I asked, glaring at her. She only sighed and shook her head.

"No... I'm alright." Her face changed again and her voice sounded... I believe it was depressed. Great, another mood swing; just what I needed to deal with.

I don't know what came over me, but I asked, "Are you feeling alright?" Why did I ask that again?

The blonde merely shrugged. "Yeah… I'm OK. I just wish that I… That I…"

She stared into space and her eyes became watery. My head tilted to the side and I spoke, "That you what?"

After I asked that the human immediately shrugged off the whole situation. "Oh… it's nothing really. I was having a moment…" She yawned and flopped onto her bed. "But could we please do something else? I'm SO bored!"

"I could ask you the same things I've been asking you," I started, "but you wouldn't remember or know the answers. It's futile."

"You can ask me," reassured the blonde. "And I'll answer them with the honest truth!" She placed her hand over her heart as if she was swearing. My response was a shrug.

"Fine… who am I?"

Sherry giggled. "Some cute scary guy that likes to stalk me."

…

…

I'd just ignore that remark. "Why am I here?"

"Like I said, to stalk me."

… This was getting annoying…

"What is the Black Book?"

"A book that's black."

That's it. I had had enough! My patience was being driven short. Fast. I stood up quickly out of the chair and strode over to Sherry. "Look here," I said, my teeth clenching. "All of your answers are wrong! I am not a stalker," I wouldn't comment on the 'cute' part, "I told you this yesterday: I am a demon come from the Mamodo World to fight for king! My Black Book is what YOU will use in order to help me gain my goal!"

Sherry only pouted and rolled her eyes. "But what if I don't want to help you? It seems like a really boring job. Speaking of which, I'M STILL BORED!"

"That's not my problem." I said. I turned to leave the room in order to contain my sanity when I heard a… strange sound. My attention spun around back to Sherry, who was sticking her tongue out at me and making odd noises with it. "What was that for, ningen?"

"Neh, neh! You are a stupid head! Stupid head! Stupid head!"

My brow was twitching even harder than the last time it twitched. Instead of continuing this pointless argument, I turned and tried to storm out of the room, but was stopped as Sherry bolted after me and grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing, Sherry!" I inquired, my voice now rising.

The blonde snickered even more. "I have you! Now you cannot escape me! HAHAHAHA!"

I think I was going insane.

Quickly I grabbed Sherry around the waist and hoisted her onto my shoulder. If I had to pin her down and leave her somewhere secluded from the world then so be it! She was irritating the hell out of me and it wasn't hard to do!

Immediately Sherry started swinging her legs around and hitting my back with her hands. She continued to kick and scream as I carried her over to her bed.

"Let me go! Let me go!" shrieked Sherry. Goodness, it was a miracle that the old man didn't hear her. Maybe he was going deaf…? Wouldn't be surprised.

"Sherry, just SHUT UP!" I dropped the blonde onto her bed and gave an exasperated sigh. "Just… do what you want. I'm going out for a bit.

"NOOO! Don't leave me!" Somehow the blonde managed to snag my hand again. Would she ever give up? "Don't leave me here all alone in the dark!" She started crying again.

This was not my day.

"I'll be back in a minute!" I said angrily. She seemed to accept my answer so she quieted down and went back to pouting.

I'll never complain about her again whenever we get her memories and old personality back.

As quickly as possible, I walked over to the door and slammed it closed. I figured out how to lock it on the outside a while ago, so I did just that so that way Sherry wouldn't go doing something stupid while I was gone. As I walked down the hallway, I sighed in relief.

At least she wasn't bothering me right now. I _would_ have to go back in there and deal with her again. But I would not let this stop me from becoming king, oh no! I still needed Sherry to get me to the rankings of royalty, even if she was becoming a child again, I still needed her.

As I walked through the hallway, I could hear the fussing from Sherry's room die down a little. Finally, she shut up. Suddenly, something caught my eye. It was a figure of somebody on the floor…

It was Sherry's little slave.

Oh great. Now there's a dead body I had to deal with. I guess he just finally kicked the bucket… or… No… that wasn't it… there was a pool of blood forming from underneath his body.

Over to the side, I noticed something dart by. I couldn't' tell what it was, but then I realized it was another figure… Two figures, actually. My eyes widened when I noticed one carrying something as they emerged from the shadows.

One of them was holding a spell book.

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_Well, there's that chapter. I'm sure i'll have fun, too, writing the battle scene and Sherry trying to figure out why she's gotta read out of Brago's book. Should be fun indeed..._

_Now on to my reviewers!_

_**anonimize:** Maybe you were just hearing things? The music beat could hav been from soembody outside in a car playing music or something...And yes, i'm positive that Zophise is a girl in the Jap. version... somebody (forget who) who has seen it one this site even said that Zophise is a girl. N' i think Zophise is a lesbian in the Jap. version, too. Well... i guess we all know why they changed it to make it all more appropriate for the lil' 6 year olds watching it. XD_

_**Blood of the Wolf:** Nah..over IM i said i wouldn't kill her off. But oh well. Gr... And i just KNEW you were gonna kill her off! Here's a nice lil' chappy with more randomness from Sherry:)_

_**PsychicLunar:** Honestly, i have no idea what Zophise's name sounds like... it could be for a girl or some really weird guy (which fits him perfectly) -.-_

_**Crying White Wolf:** Oh well. Here's an update!_

_**Computerfreak101:** Hmm... makes me wonder how long we have known each other... XD Ah well. Here's some more mood swings:)_

_**LaBabyJoker:** Glad you think so:) Oh, and if you want to see the picture of my OC of Sherry and Brago's daughter, i need to make sure that you have been reading my story 'A Gift from the Dark', and that you request the picture in there. 'Kay?_

_**Hiei's ice angel:** Here's the next chapter!_

_**Sara:** Well... just in case you DO get to see this... If you ever wrote some stories, i'd read 'em:)_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:** Well... i hope you like it anyway. And, oh, I don't want to say anything about her memories otherwise i might ruin it!_

_**j6girl:** Here's the next chapter._

_OK, just found out that i gotta get off the computer. So i'm gonna get this over with! Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter and i'll try to update soon!_

_See ya!_

_-Twi_

_Oh, and a last note: Please don't ask about the movie 'Kicking and Screaming'... i didn't get the title of this chapter from that. -.-_


	4. Sounds of Battle

_I've got to say, this has got to be one of my best battle scenes i've done that has spells involved in it... although its kinda short, but oh well! I'm still happy about what i did. :)_

_OK, i'm sure y'all wanna read the chapter now, so i'm just gonna let you do that. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own ANYTHING related to Zatch Bell whatsoever! And i never will, either..._

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Erased

**Chapter 4**

**Sounds of Battle**

My eyes widened. How… how did those two get in here? Why was there a mamodo team in Sherry's mansion? Damn, this was _not_ my day! I didn't even know if Sherry would be willing to go through this battle… She was the only one who could read the Black Book.

The human walked out from the shadows and was revealed to be a short man with somewhat spiked brown hair and was carrying a teal spell book. His dark tanned skin helped him hide in the darkness of the shadows while his mamodo easily stuck out. The mamodo was dressed in white and bright baby blue with quite normal looking eyes, except for the fact that they were neon blue; no human had those colored eyes, but I could sense he was a mamodo.

"Ha, you were right, Mareo," spoke the human. "There _is_ a mamodo here."

"I told you so, Conner," The mamodo identified as Mareo looked in my direction and smirked. "Now, my fellow mamodo, where's your book? We don't want to cause too much trouble here… We've already killed all of the slaves here, and Conner and I don't want to do any more destruction than we've already done."

I could tell he didn't give a damn whether he killed off Sherry's slaves or not. To tell the truth, I could care less, either; except for one thing… it would mean that I would have to take care of her all by myself!

But this was just great; there were more dead bodies I had to deal with? Damn Mareo…

"I'm not telling you anything," I said, taking a step back. All I had to do was run up to Sherry's room quickly and get us out of here… Maybe she could read the book. I would just have to force her…

"You don't have to tell us…" said Mareo, "We can just go and find your bookkeeper. Then maybe we can kill them, too, right after we demolish your book!"

Before the other team could do anything, I quickly darted out of the room. I knew this mansion like the back of my hand now, so it'd take them longer to catch up to me. Right now I had to go get Sherry.

Taking a right corner I dashed down the hallway. There was Sherry's room. I made to unlock the door but as soon as I opened the door, the blonde fell right on top of me and we both tumbled to the ground. What the hell was she doing?

"Oh, hi Braggadocio!" she said happily. "I was wondering when you'd let me out. I had been trying to open the door so I began to push it but then you suddenly appeared, and here we are with me on top of you!" Sherry let out a giggle.

Glaring, I pushed the human off of me and stood up. "First off, my name is NOT Braggadocio, it's Brago. Second, you're going to read from my book right now or else!"

"…What Black Book?" I swear I could just yell at her right now. Actually…I think I would do just that.

Suddenly, though, before I could yell at her, Mareo appeared on the other side of the hallway. Sherry and I jerked our heads to the side only to see the mamodo walk up to us and spot something to the side.

"Aha, there it is!" he cried, pointing over across the room. My own head spun around only to see my book sitting on a desk. Damn, I should have known where it was!

Both Mareo and I jumped to grab the book. Thank Kami that I got it first… Quickly I spun around and tossed the book over to Sherry. "Catch it!" I yelled as it flew in her direction. With ease, the human grabbed it and looked at me with puzzlement.

"What do I do now?" she asked, but I had already started running towards her.

"Just follow my lead," I ordered, "and stay behind me!" Both of us darted out of her room when suddenly I heard the other team call out one of their own spells…

"_Gigano Gemorokime!"_

Next thing I knew the other mamodo slapped his hands together creating a large shockwave. The blast of energy reached Sherry and I and knocked us off of our feet. "Dammit!" I cursed, glaring over to the mamodo. Over to the side, Sherry was on the ground shaking with fear, Black Book safely tucked under her arms.

"What was _that_?" she asked, turning her head to the side to get a good look at Mareo. If only she knew and was back to her old self…

"Something that'll kill you if you don't get a move on!" I said irritably. Truthfully I just said that so she'd be more aware of things and start moving and listening to me. There was always the risk with her new personalities that she'd just want to stare at the other team and just patiently await for her end.

Wouldn't be surprised.

"Sherry, now!" The ningen was now back on her feet and so was I. We ran into a hallway and down the steps. I could sense the other team not too far off…

As soon as we turned another corner I stopped and snatched Sherry's hand as I pulled her next to me. I peered around the corner to make sure the other team wasn't there and turned to face the blonde.

"What's going on?" she asked me and I sighed.

"Listen, you need to open that book and see what you can read."

"But…"

"Just do as I say!"

"Fine," As she opened the book her eyes skimmed through the different pages. "Hey, what's this? I can't read a single thing! Ooh, but this is in a different color, much prettier too, and—"

"—What does it say?" I asked and she stared down at it. "Is that the only thing?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it says… Rei—"

"Save it for later," I interrupted and she glared.

"Well that was very nice of you."

"Just come on," I grabbed her arm and led her down the hallway. She continued to pester me about why the other team was here, so I sighed and began speaking as we continued our way through her home. I explained to her everything about the Battle for Mamodo King and why we demons had to find bookkeepers to read out our spells. She seemed to understand (at least a little, I assumed) and stayed silent.

We were heading down the last hallway to reach the front door when suddenly…

"_Gemorokime!"_

Another sound wave, a little weaker than the last one, was sent hurtling our way. As quick as I could I jumped in front of Sherry since she didn't bother to protect herself from the blast – plus I needed to save my book. We were sent flying to the side and crashed through a window. Fragments of the glass flew through the air and cut our skin as we landed onto the soft grass outside. I saw the dead gardener some yards off. How many little slaves did Sherry have again?

I didn't bother to try to answer the question, for I had jumped back on my feet and was looking down at Sherry, who had a cut right on her cheek.

"Are you alright?" I asked, making sure that she could still go on. She nodded as I helped her onto her own feet. At least she was still physically strong.

Mareo and Conner appeared on the other side of the window. I glared and directed my attention to Sherry. She looked from me to the other team and then down to my book.

"Sherry," I said, "you need to cast a spell for me NOW!"

The human was hesitant, her azure orbs wandered over to the other team who decided to attack us once again.

"_Gemorokime!"_

Once again, Mareo slapped his hands together sending that shockwave swooping towards us. Before it could hit us, however, I snatched Sherry by the arm and pulled her to the side with me. The energy blast barely missed her…

The other team then hopped through the window and stared at us. I quickly shot a glance to Sherry and hissed, "Are you going to read the spell or not?"

She was hesitant again. I could tell that she was trying to solve in her mind what to do next. Finally, as the other team was about to attack us head on again, she screeched out my first spell.

"_R-Reis!"_

My hand flew up into the air and a ball of gravity was quickly sent hurtling towards the other team. They were caught off guard and the attack smacked them head on, knocking them to the ground.

But Mareo quickly stood up, wiped away a bit of blood that was trickling down from his mouth, and yelled at his bookkeeper to call out a new spell. Conner nodded his head and shouted out a spell I hadn't heard yet.

"_Gomekimoso!"_

This attack was unexpected. The Sound Mamodo took in a deep breath and soon exhaled it, releasing a loud, horrifying screech. Sherry and I winced at the booming sound and tried to block out the sound with our hands over our ears. Unfortunately Sherry dropped the book as she lifted her hands into the air. The other mamodo stopped shrieking and quickly darted towards our book. It took me just a second to realize this, but as soon as I did I leaped for my only ways of staying in the human world and rights to become the king.

Again, I snatched the Black Book before Mareo did and rolled across the ground. "Sherry," I yelled as my head spun around. The human glanced at me and realized that she dropped my book.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, staring at me oddly. I decided to ignore her and hopped back up.

"Just shut up and help me finish this battle," My voice was full of annoyance as I bared my fangs at the other team. Mareo had decided to launch a physical attack on us and was darting towards Sherry, his fist outstretched. Like hell I'd let him get to her!

Just as his own fist was about to collide with Sherry, whom was now on the ground shaking with fear of being hit, I smacked my own balled up fist right into Mareo's face. Yelling, the mamodo was sent flying about a foot away. I kicked him with my shin and he let out a moan as he flew even farther away from my attacks. Mareo rolled to the side and grumbled. He looked up at me and began to stand up.

"Sherry, call out another spell!" I ordered. Sherry only shook her head. "What?"

"I'm done fighting! I don't want to do this anymore!" she wailed, sitting on the ground with her legs curled up to her, Black Book still tucked under her arms. "I hate violence! MAKE IT ALL END! NOOO!"

"SHERRY!" I roared. Without thinking I smacked the woman across the back of her head, which only made her cry further. "Stop acting like a child and do something! If you want the battle to end you're going to have to help me, _now do call the damn spell_!"

The woman stood still suddenly, her blue eyes wide with shock. Perhaps I went a little too far when I hit her… but she had to shut up somehow. Over to the side I saw Mareo laughing as he watched the little bickering go on with Sherry and me.

Slowly, Sherry turned to look up to me, her eyes shaking. Her right hand slowly rose up to the place where I hit her and she blinked. "You… you hit me…" she whispered, now staring down at the ground.

Yes so I hit you. Now just read the freaking spell already!

Sherry then stood up, taking her time. Mareo and his bookkeeper were now laughing at use, their eyes filled with amusement. I turned my head to the side and asked in a calmer voice, "So are you going to read it? Or are you going to let them win?"

She opened the Black Book, her eyes beginning to water, and murmured, _"Reis…"_

The other team was caught off guard from their laughing, and my attack surprised them alright. They let out screams and the attack blew them off their feet. That's when I noticed a familiar blue flame take hold of their book.

Mareo was now shrieking for two reasons: one, the surprise attack and two, his book.

It was up in flames… the blue fire eating away at the Teal Book. Mareo was now disappearing, and now his no longer needed bookkeeper was speaking angrily at him.

"You promised me that we'd win!" shouted the short man. "After that other guy told us about these two supposed weaklings over here, we'd win, and then I'd be able to get my dream! You promised!"

"Shut your trap, Conner," Mareo screeched back. He was slowly dissolving away, and I watched as their own argument continued. "We didn't win, and you'll just have to live through your damn life with no purpose." He began to snicker. "Ha-ha, I never liked you anyway." The Sound Mamodo continued to laugh until he fully disappeared along with his book, his laughter slowly drifting behind…

Conner let out an irritated scream and pretended to punch something in the air. I then remembered one of Conner's words: _After that guy told us about these two supposed weaklings…_

This caught my attention. I walked over to the guy and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt. "Alright, talk ningen," I began, "Who told you about us?"

The human only scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not telling you squat!" he said, "I have no more purpose in life, so just let it end!" Suddenly he pushed himself away from me and pulled out a small dagger from inside his boots. I stared as he took the blade and lunged it into his chest. My eyes widened. He was the only one left who knew about that one person!

"Wait!" I said, but it was too late. Blood trickled down from where the dagger made contact. He was dead.

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_Yeah... lots of death in that chapter. Meh. Oh well. Hope it was alright. I just watched an episode of a new favorite show of mine... twas really sad. I even started to cry in it... this lil' girl's dad is a butt head. -.- I don't like him. He basically killed off his family... Well, i'm gonna respond to your reviews now!_

_**Crying White Wolf:** Here's an update!_

_**Dragon and Sword Master:** I doubt you were expecting these people. n.n I didn't want to have characters from the show take part in this 'cause that would mean the bookkeeper would commit suicide... didn't want that so i just made up a character. Hope it was alright!_

_**Computerfreak101: **You're right, that IS a long time. Heh. n.n You were half right on the new team... they werent the people who took away Sherry's memory but they don't exactly work for the ones who did it, either... they were just told that Brago and Sherry were 'weak' and came into the mansion lookin' for a battle. Yee-ep...There's gonna be more mood swings to come, but the next chapter will probably be a lil' more angsty... at least i'll try to make it like that. n.n I wonder how many times you HAVE said 'update soon'... Let's not go count. XD_

_**Hiei's ice angel:** This chapter's not as funny, but there's a battle scene in it. n.n_

_**PsychicLunar:** Well... i wasn't thinking much on what Brago would say about death. 'Kick the bucket' was the first thing that came to mind and i didn't bother thinking about something else. n.n Yeah... Here's an update!_

_**Blood of the Wolf:** Braggadocio was actually a vocabulary word i had in Language Arts a few months ago... Doesn't it sound like Brago's name? XD_

_**anonimize:** Maybe he's bi-sexual. I don't know, really. I still like the ZB game._

_Oh yeah! I forgot to say this, but in this story Sherry can now only read the 'Reis' spell until she works up the list like she had to do from the start. n.n Hope ya don't mind, but i have something planned later on, not too big of a deal but it's still something._

_Well i hope i managed to respond to everybody! I'm on my mom's laptop yet again and can't check email, so i'm still relying on the 'view reviews' thing to see your responses to the story. Eheheheh.. yeah... n.n_

_Read and review! Remember, no flames, just constructive criticism or really nice reviews:)_


	5. As the Rain Fell

_Yay i managed to update one last story before Thanksgiving! Whoopee! n.n_

_Oh yeah, and for those who don't read my story A Gift from the Dark, i have a note for you at the bottom. Those who do read it should already know what it is. OKIES, now on with the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing of Zatch Bell. If i did, Brago and Sherry would have appeared again on the anime by now! (steams) NOW THEY SHOULD APPEAR THE SECOND SATURDAY OF FEBRUARY! GRAAAH! (gets held back by strange bystanders. Hey who are they?) NOOO!_

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**Chapter 5**

**As the Rain Fell**

My eyes caught the blood trickling down from the shorter human's chest. The thick, red liquid splattered onto the tiny dagger he held in his hands as he fell forward, dead.

Damn it! He was the only one left who knew about the one who gave away where we were!

A faint sob drifted to my ears and I turned around only to see tears splashing down Sherry's face. She was holding my book tightly in my arms as she leaned forward with a groan, more tears falling down.

"Why… why did this happen?" she wailed. I was silent. "All this – this death! Why…?" Burying her face into her hands, she finally dropped my book and began to cry harder. It landed onto the ground with a thud and just stayed there. Sherry didn't bother to pick it up again.

I merely just watched as she continued to cry. You could say that I had grown used to this by now… but this time was different. Something… something inside of me… was also hurting. Seeing Sherry this upset made me… unhappy….

The ground where Conner's corpse was lying was stained with his crimson blood. Suddenly, a drop of rain fell onto the grass. Then another and another… and soon it was pouring down rain. Our clothes began to get damp and uncomfortable, but neither of us did nor said anything.

My attention was brought back to Sherry. Her sapphire orbs were fixed on me with a sharp glare. Tears were still rolling down from her eyes but the look in them was different. No longer was it morose… but it was now… sober, and angrier, too.

"You bastard!" she shrieked. Since there was nobody else around (who was alive, anyway) but me, I assumed that I was the only one she was referring to.

"What is it?" I asked, not really caring what the answer would be.

The ningen stood up on her feet, hands clenched tightly together. She pointed with her right hand at me and then said, "How could you just let that man die?" she inquired. "How? He was a living person – and you just let him take his own life away with that blade!"

"Sherry," I said, feeling rather annoyed. "He was going to _kill_ us. Either us die or him."

"I don't care about that!" Sherry shook her head. "Every person has a life – which must be valued and considered as equal as yours or mine! You can't just…. Let him die like that!"

Heh, but I just did, I mused to myself. "Sherry, apparently you can't consider these things very well at the present moment," I said. "Perhaps you should go inside and rest—"

"I don't need any damn rest, thank you!" Her glare increased. "I'm perfectly fine!"

I watched as she closed her eyes and began to shake as she bowed her head to the ground, her golden locks falling over her eyes. She let go of the tension in her fists and collapsed onto the ground, crying once again.

"It's not fair!" she screeched. "Life is not fair! Why do we all have to die? Why do I have to participate in this war?" More tears fell. "WHY!"

It was my decision then to let her be. I turned to go and find all the dead bodies throughout the mansion. Mareo and Conner had said that they _did_ kill off all of Sherry's servants… might as well go find them so that way there wasn't a reeking smell throughout the place.

Sherry continued to cry. Sobs wracked through her shaking body and the hours continued.

And the rain continued to fall…

-o-o-o-o-o-

By the next day, all of the bodies were cleared out of the Belmond grounds and dumped in a river I found outside the mansion in the forest beyond. Sherry had gone back up to her room, my Black Book still with her. I knew that she wouldn't dare burn it, but still I didn't like my list of spells out of sight.

Inside her room, Sherry cried a lot. I could hear her as the hours went by. Damn, how many gallons of water had she released now?

What was strange was that every time I heard her sob, I would keep getting a strange feeling… a tugging feeling inside my chest. It was so… strange… Never had I experienced this feeling before. So foreign… what could it be? Why did I feel so unhappy every time I heard Sherry cry?

What was stranger still was that feeling wouldn't leave me alone. I would try and push it out of my mind but it kept returning – reminding me of how upset Sherry was. Sherry was all I could think of now.

So by the time nightfall fell, I decided to check on the human. It was still raining outside; I had gone out for a bit earlier and heard people talking about how it was supposed to rain for a couple of days nonstop. Just great…

I headed up the stairway that led to my bookkeeper's room. I sensed that she was still in there. That was good. How many hours had it been since she locked herself in?

The beating of the rain was almost like a soft rhythm. It continued on and on and on… Nonstop. Continuously falling…

Finally I reached the doorway into the blonde's room. I found that it was unlocked, so without hesitation I opened up the door and took a step inside. Sherry wasn't on her bed, but over to the side I could see her staring out the window, watching the rain.

"Hi, Brago," she said monotonously. Without turning to look at me, she then said, "Why don't you come over here?"

I said nothing, but headed over to where the woman was. Taking a seat next to her on the window seat, I paid close attention to her facial expression. She was still so… sad.

"So," began the other, "what have you been doing since yesterday?"

At first I was silent, but then I replied quietly, "Cleaning up the dead bodies. Why?"

The other let out a long sigh and shook her head, "Nothing…" I noticed tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes and she wiped them away. "I just hate death, that's all."

Funny, I pondered, she seemed quite attracted to it. She had told me about when she was younger a while ago, before all this started, how she tried to commit suicide. Don't know why she told me… but I'm sure that she would have tried to commit it again after Koko left her. Death always seemed to follow her, I thought, now looking out the window.

It was still raining.

Sherry finally let out a small sob as a tear trickled down her cheek. She closed her eyes for a quick moment and then shook her head. Before any of us could do anything, however, she burst out crying once again.

"It's always so difficult," she started to say, "Why must we all die? We have things to do and we must cherish our lives! It's not fair!" The blonde buried her face in her hands.

This crying was starting to get annoying… And yet that odd feeling was still contained within me.

Why the hell was it there?

My eyes suddenly widened when Sherry rested her head on my shoulder as she closed her eyes with yet another sob. I quickly got up away from her reach and stared at her. The ningen's eyes opened revealing her azure orbs. She gazed at me with a pleading look.

"Brago, please don't go…"

I shook my head. I didn't want to be in here… why was she acting the way she was? Why was _I_?

"I'm going outside," I said quickly and turned around to head out the door. A depressed sigh emitted from the blonde's mouth. Maybe she just needed to cool off…

Whatever her problem was, though, I didn't care.

Yet…

… Something inside of me did. Almost like I wanted to find out who did this to Sherry, to regain her memory and personality back… So she'd be herself again and no longer upset

To _help_ her.

To do it _with_ her…

_Together…_

I mentally kicked myself. I would help Sherry, of course, but these other feelings… they were so… different. I wanted to do more than just help her. But …what? Damn emotions. I hate them for every possible reason.

I continued down the hallway of Sherry's mansion and down the stairs. Tomorrow we would head out and train; we needed the spells that we lost after her memories were erased. As for now, I believed that we both required cooling off. I nodded my head silently to myself and continued on my way.

Rain still falling…

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_Yeah, there's the next chapter! I tried to make it a lil' more angsty this time.. no humor is in it, it is just... this.. yeah. n.n_

_**Anyway, for those who don't already know: ** _

_**FFnet has a new rule stating that we're not allowed to have responses to reviewers inside of our stories anymore. However, we're able to respond to those who are joined with the site with this special thingamajig. Go to the front page of FFnet to learn more details. But the thing is, i will not be able to respond to you reviewers who are anonymous and not joined with the site. So... sorry. Unless you have email and are willing to put it up for me to respond to you THAT way, i won't be responding to you anymore. Gomen nasai. :-( I won't be answering your reviews in this chapter, either, for fear of getting caught responding one last time and getting in trouble for it. :-/**_

_Yeah... that's all i have to say. For those that ARE joined with the site and have the respond thingamabob thing i'll be responding to you that way:) As soon as i post this chapter i'll be clicking the'reply' button for a bit. XP...OK i'm sick of saying 'respond' so i'm gonna get this over with._

Yep, the good ol' cut n' paste trick. (hey, that'sthe name of a mamodo o.O "cut n' paste") I merely took that from my story AGftD and put in in here. XD

Yeah.. well... as soon as i post this i'm gonna be responding to y'all with that new thingamabob. LATER! HAPPY EARLY THANKSGIVING (again):-)

-Twi


	6. When You Fail to Succeed

_Hello peeps, sorry for the long wait. I've just been busy (as usual for when i don't update) and working on school stuff... we've already gone through 2 tests this week. And tommorow is the computer test thing that we have to pass before we graduate high school... (sigh) Great...  
Well, here's the next chappy! Read on, my friends, read on!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Zatch Bell. If i did certain characters would have appeared by now on the show AND they would appear more often. CoughBragocoughSherrycoughZeoncoughothers... -.-_

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**Chapter 6**

**When You Fail to Succeed**

By morning the rain was still pouring. Sherry was asleep in her room with my book, of all damn places, wrapped in her arms. I watched her as she slept blissfully unaware of everything in the world.

I couldn't believe that all of the spells we gained were gone. We had four spells – and I knew, _I_ _knew_ that we would have reached the fifth by now if it wasn't for this fiasco.

_Damn it!_

Leaving the doorway of Sherry's room, I walked back downstairs to find something to do. I would allow the ningen to sleep in just a little longer…. Yesterday when I woke her up early (which was the usual time she usually woke up before this mess) she threw a complete fit. The woman started shrieking at me to leave her alone so I just left her there for about an hour and a half. Then after she woke up she wouldn't let me out of her sight.

And this was my bookkeeper we were talking about…

Seeing the front door in sight, I walked up to it and then outside, slamming the door behind me. Who cares if it woke up Sherry; she needed to be awake anyway. This excess slumber would cause her to become weaker.

Just what I needed…

There was a bench beside me so I sat down on it as I listened to the soft rhythm of the rain around me. This was a good time to meditate, so I closed my eyes and brought my knees up to me, resting my hands atop them. My mind was left blank as I began to relax.

…

…

…

"Brago?"

My eyes snapped open and I turned to look at the blonde next to me. I had sensed her coming but did nothing about it. She stared down at me with that same moody look about her as the night before as she held my spell book.

I said nothing to her, so she continued, tightening her grip around my book. "Uh… I was, err… wondering what we were doing today?" She looked down at me with curiosity.

"We're going to train," I said, putting it bluntly, "You need to get stronger. I can't have you fighting like you did last night" With that I closed my eyes and turned my head away again.

"Train? We're going to _train_?"

One of my eyes opened to look at the blonde and I glared. "Got a problem with that?"

Immediately the apparent moodiness left and was replaced by anger. "Yes I do!" she said as she tightened her fists.

"Just deal with it."

"_What?_"

"You heard me."

She huffed. "Why you rude thing you!" The woman raised her right hand into the air and swung it down towards my face. Quickly I snagged her hand and slammed her to the ground. She glared back up at me with those vibrant blue eyes.

"Don't try to attack me again, understand that, Sherry?" I hissed. I loosened the grip around her arm and let her go. She quickly stood up, brushed the dirt off of her dress, and huffed again.

"You're rude, you know that?"

I made no comment to this dull remark, but instead said, "Come on, we should go and get started now." I began to walk in a different direction, Sherry hesitantly followed.

"So, where are we going?" she inquired. This question I ignored, too. "Hellooooo?" she nagged. I didn't want to speak with her after the… strange feelings I had last night (and I was still feeling them, too, and slight guilt for throwing her on the ground).

She continued to pester me about where we were headed so I quickly shot her a glare and she quieted down. "Just follow me and shut up."

-o-o-o-o-o-

We had walked for quite a while now… I wondered how far away from the mansion we were. Suddenly there was an odd gurgling sound and I turned my head around only to see a blushing Sherry.

"Uh… I'm hungry,"

Great, I had completely forgotten about her being fed. Didn't she go get something while we were back at her manor? Humans… they're always forgetting things…

I turned to look in the other direction. Sherry and I had been down this way many times before – though I'm quite positive she doesn't remember that – so I knew there was a river somewhere in that direction. "Sherry," I said, now facing her, "There's a river down that way. We can find you something there."

"Fine. Just as long as it's cooked food I'm happy!" The ningen began to march towards where I motioned to and seemed to completely forget about me. I stared from my spot and soon followed. Why did she want cooked food? That'd just make her even weaker than she already was.

After I muttered under my breath some I caught up with Sherry and led her down to where the water was. There were fish swimming all through the water- I could see them. Quickly my arm bolted down into the river and grabbed one of the squirming creatures. Sherry stared at me with amazement.

"How'd you do that?" she asked, pointing a finger at me. It wasn't that big of a deal…

"If you train," I began, "then I'm sure you could do the same."

"Really?" Her eyes were wide and full of gullibility. "Cool! I wanna try some time!" After that she just stood there as she stared at me as if waiting for something. My eye started to twitch after a minute and she finally spoke, "Well?"

"Well what?" I snapped back.

"Aren't you going to find me a fork, a knife and a plate?"

"Find you _what_?"

She gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean! GO FIND ME SOMETHING TO EAT THIS WITH!" she roared. As if she really expected all her needs to be met? I hardly got all of _mine_!

"Just eat it with what you've got," I replied back, "You always did that in the past. But I bet you don't remember that either," I sneered.

She pouted. "I can't help it if I have short term memory."

Since when did she have that?

I growled to myself and ripped off a small portion of the fish for her to eat and started a small fire to place it over and cook it. After doing so I went onto my own part of the fish that I saved for myself. Turns out I was a little hungry, too. I would need all the strength I could get if I had to deal with _her_.

That's when that damn guilty feeling rose up again. Couldn't it just leave me alone?

Eventually we both finished eating (it took Sherry longer to eat because she was also staring at me oddly while I ate for some reason. I'll never understand her…) and headed out into the forest again. I led her to a clear spot and turned to her.

"Alright, Sherry," I began, "Let's begin the training. Now do as I say and you won't get hurt."

Again, she pouted and crossed her arms. "But what if I don't want to train? I wanna take a nap."

"Do as I say, woman!" my voice slightly raised and she flinched.

"Fine," she said as she sighed. I nodded my head and began to search for a good target we could practice on when suddenly I heard… "Ooh what does this say? Let's see… Reis!"

Damn it she read the spell!

Unfortunate for Sherry I was still facing her direction when my hand flung into the air, gathering energy. I managed to turn around quickly before it launched out at her – by doing so I managed to hit a nearby tree instead.

As soon as the ball of gravity collided with the plant I jerked my head towards the blonde and yelled, "What the hell were you doing?"

"I was just reading the words in the book!" she cried, "Books are meant to be read! That's all I was doing!" That was her excuse? Pathetic…

As I made my way towards my bookkeeper I snatched her hand tightly, causing her to drop my book, and glared. "These spells aren't something to play around with. One thing's for sure- I don't want to be sent back to the Mamodo World so watch what you're doing. And I highly doubt you want to get hurt, either."

She quickly shook her head. "N-no, I'm sorry! Brago I really am!" A tear trickled down from her eye and quickly I let go of her wrist. As soon as I did so she grasped her hand and looked up at me with a flushed look.

Sighing, I turned around to face the opposite direction. "Just watch what you're doing," I said and walked forward. There was a tree off to the side that we could use as a target... it wasn't too far from where my previous Reis spell hit earlier. At least Sherry knew how to use the spells now...

How many times she would mess up like this, I had no idea. But she better get the grip on this soon… she did last time, and I was positive she could do it again.

Hopefully.

I hated that word.

But if you fail to succeed… try, try again. I had heard that phrase, too… It reminded me of how I trained myself back in my own world. If I ever failed at something I would try again and again until I got it right. Now it was Sherry's turn to do so.

Get prepared Sherry, I mused to myself as I turned to look at her, you have a lot of requirements to meet. Your lost memories won't be any excuse to not meet my goals set for you. And they won't be easy to pass... nor will I go easy on you.

* * *

_We've been making dragsters (wooden cars) in Technology class for a while and we finally got to race them today! Mine was the fastest :) Over 60 feet i got 1.002 seconds! Whoohoo! n.n_

_Geez... the Zatch Bell section is getting bigger. It's now 10 pages long (Uh-huh, yep, i just noticed that)...I remember when the first story came out! o.o Yeesh... now it's like... a ton of months later and there's 9 extra pages longer. (sigh) Wonder how many there'll be when the new year comes. Heh._

_Yeah! Christmas is comin' soon! I absolutely KNOW i am getting a nano iPod. I hope it's black...  
At least i think i'm getting one..._

_Well, there's the next chapter! RandR y'all!_


	7. A Second Time

_Hello all you peeps, hope you have had a merry Christmas! I am so happy.. i got my nano iPod and am telling everybody i know that! n.n I love that thing so much... but i haven't even got any songs on it yet 'cause i gotta get my mom, who i will see tommorow, to show me. (sigh) Oh well!_

_Anyway, here's an update! Enjoy your reading! XD_

_Disclaimer: You think I own this? I think you're crazy._

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**Chapter 7**

**A Second Time**

To put it bluntly, the past few days were hell. Sherry wouldn't follow my instructions for training without a fight. There ere times where she'd sit on the ground and just stay there while she refused to listen to a word I said.

If I could just kick her around like I used to do in order to make her do things I would have done that but… I couldn't ever bring myself to do that. Ever since that one battle back at her mansion, I've started to feel sorry for her…

Damn it, what am I thinking? How could I feel sorry for her? She's a human! A worthless, lowly, little…

No, no… not lowly. What the hell is wrong with me?

I watched silently as the woman slept over to the side. It was late at night and we had been training all day. She was exhausted and required some rest if she were to be in top shape the next morning. My Black Book was still wrapped in her arms...

At least the rain stopped the other day. Sherry complained too much about how she hated being outside while it was wet and it had become rather annoying.

I sighed and directed my gaze elsewhere, my mind still focused on Sherry. I shifted my position on the ground, since I was sitting on it, and leaned my back against a tree behind me. The sounds of the night kept ringing through my ears until I heard a soft murmur.

To the side, the ningen stirred in her sleep. I watched as she rolled over, now facing me, and shivered in her sleep. "Brago…" she mumbled. Hearing my name being called from her surprised me, and then I noted to how she was shivering.

It became much cooler during the night, so I stood up and walked over to the blonde. Quietly I removed the fur cloak wrapped around my shoulders and threw it onto the blonde. I don't know why I did that… seeing her uncomfortable like that bothered me oddly.

As soon as it hit her body she stopped shivering and settled down. A satisfied smirk crept upon my lips as I turned away. Suddenly there was a bright purple light behind me and I spun around.

Either my eyes were playing tricks on me... or I just thought I saw my book glow. For now, it was my decision to forget about it. We could check the spell book in the morning... Sherry was too content where she was and I didn't want to bother her.

As I headed back to the tree where I was before, I thought I heard the woman mutter something under her breath. When I looked back, she was the same as she was before.

Odd…

I sat back down and sighed once again. We would wait until morning and check… We would see what would happen then. I decided to go into a deep meditation, so slowly I closed my eyes and my mind became blank.

-o-o-o-o-o-

As morning drew near, I began to gain consciousness. Wasn't I in mediation? Then how did I end up asleep? Damn it, I guess I was too relaxed… but… how?

It came to my immediate attention that there was warmth beside me. My eyes snapped open and I quickly looked over only to see Sherry leaning against me. As quickly as I could I jumped up but began to feel slightly dizzy from moving so quickly.

Since there was nothing to support her, the other fell down with a small thud. That woke her up. Slowly she opened her eyes and rubbed them for a few seconds, and then her attention was brought to me. There was a tiny shade of pink on her cheeks as she stared in my direction; I suppose she must have realized that I found out she was against me.

"Uh… Good morning," she said shyly now gazing at the ground. I looked elsewhere. I could hear a yawn in the background and then finally turned back to see her rubbing her eyes once again.

We were both quite silent after that, but then I remembered something from last night – the book!

"Sherry," I began as I stared down at her.

"Hmm?"

"Open the book," I commanded. She didn't seem to get the picture yet. "Open my spell book."

"Oh… this thing," she muttered, now holding up the one thing that kept me in this world. As she opened the book, the glow returned again, brighter than before. Sherry stared at the thing long and hard before she muttered, "The… second spell?"

It was like we had just won a battle and received some sort of great prize – except this time there was no battle. The prize…

_Gravirei…_

So clearly… I remembered it so clearly… Sherry's strong, determining voice shouting out my second spell. It was what she used to keep the reader of the Red Book and Zatch Bell from attacking us while she explained the Battle for Mamodo King.

At long last it returned… It was the second time I saw this spell come back.

"So, it's returned now, eh?" I stared down at her and her up at me. There was a large smile placed on her face as she beamed.

"We did it!" she cried. "You told me – you told me we had to get them back and we've already gotten a new one!"

"Good. Now we can begin our training once more." I turned away from her and I could hear the blonde stand up.

"Doesn't this mean anything to you?" I heard her inquire. "This is your spell book after all! Don't you care?"

"I care," I began, "but you have no knowledge of anything. You don't care as much as you should."

She was silent. "Brago, I…" She was cut off by a spell in the background. Both of us turned around only to be met by ice. The sharp shards scraped against mine and Sherry's skin as we both fell backwards to the unexpected attack. Sherry screeched and I merely growled as I looked up to see our opponents.

One was a human of course with black hair matted down onto his face. His mamodo was a strange looking creature that almost looked like some sort of beast - or a wolf. It had white fur and a brown face, its eyes covered by its hair. Their book was a light color - perhaps a light blue or cream colored green. I couldn't make it out.

Quickly I grabbed my cloak on the ground and threw it back on and immediately looked down to see if my bookkeeper was alright. She was.

"What – what _is_ that?" she questioned, pointing over to the team on the other side of the area.

I answered her. "It's another mamodo team, and they've come to fight."

* * *

_So, can anybody try and tell me who they think this team is? I've written a one-shot about 'em before... I will give you another hint: They appear in the 3rd manga! Buwahahahaha! And i also believe we'll see them around episode 50 something as well - manga and anime! Whoohoo! XD_

_Read and review folks, don't be shy. You know you wanna press the button and send a review. :)_

_G'night, y'all!_


	8. Fukekka

_I am back! n.n If anybody wants a clue as to what happens later on in this chapter without reading it just try and figure out what the chapter title means. n.n (HINT: It's Japanese) X3_

_I really love YouTube dot com now... it has an episode of Konjiki no Gash Bell on it! N' it's not just the audio - it's graphic, too! But i can't understand ONE BLASTED WORD they're saying 'cause whoever put up the episode thingy didn't put subtitles on or couldn't or... or something... GRAH! -.- Just go to my profile and find the YouTube thingy and search for Zatch Bell or Konjiki no Gash Bell stuffs.._

_A/N: Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter but i was rather rushed to try and get it done before my mother comes to pick me up and take her back to the apartment. So... uh... Read and review with no flaming? n.n_

_Disclaimer: How many times must i say i do not own Zatch Bell?_

_Oh! I nearly forgot: If anybody wants to have a clue as to another mamodo i'm throwing in here later (one i made up of course) I have put up in the "Mamodo Ideas" forum in "My Mamodos Go HERE!" a mamodo of my own! She's gonna appear later on in the story. n.n Thought i'd let y'all know._

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**Chapter 8**

**Fukekka**

"Is... is somebody else going to die?" Sherry stared in my direction with an overwhelmed look in her eyes. "There was death the last time we had one of these battles... will there be another?"

I didn't know where she came up with that ludicrous question. Just because some of some friggin' battle in the past contained death, does not mean it would happen _this_ time. As if I would give a damn if somebody on the other team passed away...

"Braggadocio?" I glared when she called me by that stupid nickname.

"What?" I angrily snapped back.

"Answer my question!"

"Would you both shut up? We don't have time to talk!" shouted a new voice. Both Sherry and I turned our heads in the direction of the other team. It was the other team's bookkeeper who had said this. "We're here to fight, and that's precisely what we're gonna do!" he shouted.

I merely glanced over to Sherry as soon as the man finished his words. The onna was glaring at the other team, her face flushed with anger.

"We'll bicker all we want, thank you very much!" she said in an annoyed tone. "And if it's a fight you want- you got it!"

You know for once in a very long time that actually sounded like something the old Sherry would say. Banzai, Sherry.

It was now when the blonde was distracted with her own words when the other team took this as an opportunity to make an assault.

_"Raaja Freezudo!"_ shrieked the enemy. I jerked my head to the side only to see that they were aiming for Sherry... where my book was. As quickly as I could I rushed over to where she was and pushed her out of the way, only to be caught up in the attack. A cold covering of ice wrapped around my legs to my waist and I tumbled to the ground.

"Sherry," I snapped, and she glanced over at me from the ground. "Do something!"

"Uh... like what?"

Dammit Sherry, use your brain!

"Go, Furigaro, finish her off!" My eyes were directed to where the other mamodo was. Great, this ice is too thick for me to smash through and now I'm stuck, plus Sherry is a _damn open target!_

"SHERRY, MOVE NOW!" I yelled. She got the message. As the other creature-like mamodo charged after her she kicked it in the face and then darted behind me. The enemy known as Furigaro stared at my bookkeeper through its shaggy hair and snarled.

"Brago, what do I do?" cried Sherry, standing beside me. I glared and turned my attention upwards.

"Getting me out of this ice would be constructive."

"Anou..." She was hesitant, but then her eyes lit up with an idea. "OK! Brago, I know you can't smash through the ice with your bare hands, but can you aim with them?"

"Yes..."

"Good then! Aim at the ice." I did what she said and the woman took my book in her arms and then flipped open a page. It started to glow when she shouted out my first spell. "_Reis!"_

I could feel the energy gathering in my hand as I shot out the gravity ball out at the frost. There was a shattering sound and I was free from the cold substance's grasp. Quickly I jumped up, turned to my bookkeeper, and nodded. My attention was brought back to the other team who was ready to attack.

_"Ganzu Gikoru!"_

"_Reis!"_

Both of our spells launched at the other team and collided with another. A loud explosion was then created and dust was flying everywhere, blocking out our sight. However, I could still sense the other team. Furigaro was... in front of Sherry!

Again I got Sherry out of the way except this time I pulled her towards me instead of pushing her away. Unfortunately she was being a klutz and lost her balance in the process and ended up falling right on top of me. Damn it...

She squeaked as we both fell over. Luckily my book was still in her grasp... but still... this position was rather... uncomfortable... I turned around to look at the other team as Sherry stared at me blushing. Furigaro was standing right next to us, growling.

"Come on, let's get rid of them already!" I could hear the other human say. Furigaro raised his arm and was about to slam it right into us. If it weren't for me rolling out of the way, still holding onto Sherry, we would have both gotten hit. The mamodo's arm ended up smashing onto the ground instead, leaving a small hole where there was contact with the soil.

"Brago, we need to end this..." said Sherry as she looked up at me. I was still holding onto her with my left arm while her hands were pulled to her chest, my book in-between them. I didn't know why I was still holding onto her, but I quickly let go.

"Right. Call out the second spell," I said, staring at the other team. Sherry shakily got up and opened the book once more.

"Alright..."

I darted forward and then heard the spell get called out. Rapidly I raised my right hand and aimed towards the other human. The force of gravity was about to come on him but he quickly rolled out of the way.

Running forward, I swung my fist down on the mamodo Furigaro. I made contact and knocked him a few feet from where I was. He quickly got up and pushed me to the ground and punched me in the face.

"Brago!" shrieked Sherry in the background. "_Reis!"_ As Furigaro was about to strike me once more I jumped up and launched my first spell at him. With a growl he was sent to the ground and landed on his back.

I stood up and glanced over to Sherry. She had a scared look on her face but then she shot her hand up and pointed behind me.

"Look out!"

"What?"

I let my guard down.

_"Ganzu Gikoru!"_ The shards of ice shot out from Furigaro's mouth and scraped against my skin. I let out a curse and grasped my shoulder and blocked an attack with my foot by kicking the mamodo out of the way.

"Brago! Daijoubu?" Sherry's azure eyes were glittering with worry, one of her hands was pulled up to her face, covering the obviously shocked look she had.

"I'm alright..." I said lowly. Damn... we were no match against this team with Sherry's condition and our current level of spells. We had to do something... fast.

"Furigaro, let's go!" shouted the other bookkeeper. His eyes were glittering with the excitement of the battle. "_Raaja Freezudo!"_

Again, Furigaro's spell caused ice to creep up on Sherry and I. I knew that, if we were to come back at this team later on, we had to avoid this attack. Who knew how long Sherry could go on like this...? This was absurd!

"Sherry, move!"

"Wha—?"

She didn't finish as I darted over to where she was and grabbed her hand, pulling her along with me. We ran into the woods and out of site, but...

"Brago, what are we do--AUGH!" Sherry tripped and fell over as the ice caught one of her feet. She fell to the ground with a thud and dropped my book about a foot away from her.

I growled with irritation. "Sherry this is no time to get caught in the enemy's spells!" I made to try and pull her foot out from the ice.

"I didn't mean to!" she hissed. I managed to slip her foot out from her shoe (which was still inside the ice- no big loss) and helped the blonde up. I could sense the other team gaining on us.

"We need to get out of here, now!" I picked up my book and handed it to the blonde. We both ran off into the trees once more.

For a few minutes we ran nonstop. I didn't know how far we traveled, but the team was still hot on our trail.

_"Ganzu Gikoru!"_

No...

A shriek of pain escaped from Sherry's lips as the splinters of ice swooshed through the bushes and scraped her shoulders, as they had previously done to me earlier. She whimpered as she fell to the ground, still holding onto my book, but I merely tugged at her arm.

"We can't stop!" I urged her on. "In our current status we're no match for them-- MOVE IT!"

Slightly reluctant she followed. I stared straight forward but could hear the soft weeping emitting from the woman. She was crying again...

This time I didn't know how far or long we traveled. It was quite possible we moved a mile from the battle scene to where we currently were. I could no longer sense the other team... they weren't nearby. That was good. We needed to be far away from them. Though we were still in deep woods.

As soon as we stopped running, Sherry plopped onto the ground and dropped my book and began to cry. "This... this isn't happening... why must we fight?" Great, her tirade of unhappiness began. "I hate this!"

However much I disliked hearing her cry like this, I didn't say anything negative to repel what she was muttering. Merely... I just looked down at her sore body and sat down with her as she cried.

It was silent all around us except for her weeping. After a while, I sighed and glanced at the blonde. Her arms were wrapped around herself and tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Sherry..." I tried to make her stop. "It's over now..."

After I said that she slowly stopped crying. She glanced up at me with watery eyes as one last tear fell down her cheek. "Brago..." She sniffed, and then suddenly grabbed a hold of my shoulders.

"...?" I didn't expect this sudden reaction, but I let her hold onto me anyway. It seemed to soothe her so I let it be. Off to the side, I could see lights in the distance. We were near a city... Perhaps we could head there and then find our way back to the mansion and gain more supplies there. Hopefully Furigaro and his bookkeeper had left our grounds by now...

"Brago... I'm so tired of this... I want it all to stop..." I turned and saw more tears trickle down the girl's face.

In the meantime... I needed to find out how she lost her memory and how to get it back while we trained more. I knew that's exactly what we needed.

Standing up, I helped the blonde get on her feet as well and gather the Black Book. To the north is where we needed to head back... that's where I found Sherry injured on the ground. Maybe there I would find a clue as to why she had been acting like this.

Turning to face my bookkeeper, I sighed and helped her along. "Come on, we need to get back."


	9. And Then Some

_Yeah... 'nother long update. Sorry folks... _

_Say... is anybody aware of the fact that if no new episodes of Zatch Bell were blocked, Brago and Sherry would have appeared last night (Saturday 1/28/06)? (sigh) It's not fair i tell you... completely unfair..._

_Well... read and review! n.n_

_Disclaimer: Zatch Bell is not mine.. if it was, Brago and Sherry would have appeared last night or sooner! Grr..._

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**Chapter 9**

**And Then Some**

I hated to admit it, but we were lost.

Sherry and I had been walking all day, trying to figure out where we were. Both of us were in such a hurry to get away from the battle scene as soon as possible that we didn't pay attention to where we were going. Great, another damn mistake I made.

The forest area that we were in was quite unfamiliar-- I had never been through this section of the woods before. But I knew we couldn't be too far from where Sherry was first found unconscious. It was currently night and we just _had_ to get there before we headed anywhere else. The sooner we reached our destination the less chance we had of somebody messing up the surroundings causing any clues that were there to remain forever unfound.

"Brago... I'm tired..." complained Sherry as she walked a few feet behind me. "Can't we take a break...?"

"No," I retorted, turning to look behind me so I could see her. I'll admit that Sherry didn't do the best job cleaning herself up after that battle when we found a small stream some ways off. There were still scratches all over her skin, and around her shoulders her dress was slightly torn.

"But I can't go on..."

The woman continued to wine until I had finally had enough. Just to make her shut up, I had offered to carry her on my back like I had done previous times when she had fallen during battle.

Her eyes lit up like glittering sapphires before she asked, "Are you sure?"

"Just hurry up before I change my mind," I growled before she hesitantly nodded her head. Bending down on my knees, I watched as she soon climbed on my back and wrapped her arms loosely around my neck while I grabbed her thighs and stood up.

We had done this previous times before yet I didn't understand why this time I felt slightly... different. The ningen rested her head against my shoulder and sighed.

"Don't get too comfortable," I muttered after a minute.

"Hmmmmm...?" mumbled the woman drowsily. "...What Brago?"

My point exactly, I thought to myself, she's going to fall asleep if she keeps at it...

I was right, after a while I could feel her breathing slowing down to a steady rhythm. Her grip around myself loosened and I had to lean forwards just a little more to keep her from falling off.

It felt odd, yet... somewhat... pleasant... I cursed to myself again for thinking such thoughts. I still didn't understand why I was acting so differently around her.

It couldn't be because I felt sorry for her...?

I sighed and continued to walk. After a long while, I noticed the surroundings were becoming slightly familiar. Now I knew I was on the right track when I saw a few surroundings that I recognized. We were definitely around where the woman was hurt.

For a moment I stopped to regain my grip on Sherry. She was getting heavier and I needed to keep her from slipping. Afterwards I looked around and pondered to myself which way I should head next, considering the fact that just a few simple surroundings wouldn't do me much good.

After a minute I chose to go slightly west and then walked off in that direction. It was getting rather uncomfortable now... Usually I didn't have to carry Sherry this long or this far.

"Brago..." Hearing her call my name caught my attention and I stopped walking. From the corner of my eye I saw her facial expression... From the looks of it, she seemed to be upset about something. But it was probably just her dream...

"Sherry, are you going to wake up or not?" I asked her, seeing if she would respond. Slowly her eyes flipped open revealing her azure orbs. She looked up at me with them and blushed.

"Uh... I guess I could walk on my own now."

"Good." I gently set her down as she yawned and rubbed one of her eyes. As soon as her feet touched the ground she looked up at me and gave an awkward smile.

"Th-thanks for that... I feel much better now."

I was silent but nodded my head. We both started to walk again in the direction we needed to go to. Good thing that Sherry really didn't need to be carried any longer; the entire time we walked she didn't complain once.

After a while, I stopped walking and looked around. There was the tree that I spotted blood on before... And there it was: a small bit of dried blood was still there.

"Eww, why is there red stuff on that tree?" commented Sherry as she looked up at it. "What _is_ it anyway?"

"It's dried blood," I responded.

Sherry made a face. "Blood? Gross...!"

"It's _your_ blood, Sherry." I turned to look at the woman who was staring at me oddly. She looked at me to the tree and then back to me.

"...That can't be my blood," she said, shaking her head. "What proof do you have, huh? NONE!"

"Sherry, I know that's your blood."

"How so?"

"Because a little over a week ago I was out looking for you. I found blood on this tree and walked a little bit beyond this point, I found you lying on the ground, unconscious, covered in blood. _That's_ how I know."

"..." She was silent as she stared at the tree where the blood splotch was. I assumed she was going to say nothing more because she didn't say anything else.

"Come on," I said, "We need to head to the spot where I found you. Now let's go."

She sighed and stared at the ground as she nodded her head. "Alright..."

We both then directed our attention forward where I had found Sherry. As we walked along, getting closer to our destination, I noticed that the blonde was started to act... odd. Her eyes were widening and she was looking back and forth, almost as if she expected a monster to hop out and kill her at any second. What I _also_ noticed was that, when I stepped on a twig at one moment, she jumped a little and inched a little closer to me.

I eyed her before turning my head forwards once more and searching for the spot where I found her. Then... I saw it. In the center of scattered bushes was where I had found my bookkeeper unconscious.

"Well... this is it. This is where I found you," I said, turning to face the blonde. A puzzled look crossed my features when I noticed that she had a terrified look on her face. "Sherry?"

"Brago... this place scares me..." said the ningen, her eyes darting around the area. "I don't like it here... Can we please leave?"

"No, I want to look around and see if I can find anything that would give me a clue as to why you lost your memory," I responded as I turned around to begin my search. "You need your memory and old personality back..."

"Are... are you saying this isn't how I acted before?"

"Iie."

She gave another look before looking around and sitting on the ground with her legs pulled up to herself and her arms wrapped around them. My book was in a special white case that Sherry kept around her belt of her dress. She kept it there a lot before her memories were lost.

As I continued searching, I began to feel aggravated. I had not yet found any clues to this pain in the ass mystery that was going on... which annoyed me tremendously. I wanted this whole ordeal over with so that way I could continue with the Battle for King like any other demon would...

The minutes passed by and soon half an hour had gone. Sherry was surprisingly quiet the whole time while I searched. Soon I gave up and turned to face the blonde, who still had the scared look on her face.

As soon as I stepped up to her, she looked up at me with those sapphire eyes and mumbled something incoherent. I asked her to repeat herself, so she shook her head and sighed as she then stared at the ground.

"Brago... I remember my mother..."

A surprised looked overwhelmed my face before she continued.

"While you were searching for... whatever it was you were looking for... I just started to remember my mom..." Her voice was quiet and she was trembling slightly. "She... I remember she abused me when I was younger... She thought I was a failure... She said I was hopeless and useless... She hated me..."

I stared down at her while she paused. Tears trickled down from her eyes and she let out a sob. There was nothing I could really say... The only thing I could think of was that the fact she regained _some_ memory was good.

Looking up, Sherry gave me a sad look before asking, "Brago... do you hate me? Do you... do you think I'm... a failure?" More tears fell down her cheeks and she wiped them away with her sleeve.

During this time I said nothing so there was silence. Honestly... I didn't know what to tell her. Currently I didn't know what I thought of her... but... she wasn't a failure...

"You do hate me, don't you?" she cried, more tears splashing down her face. "You probably think I'm a complete failure too! Because I haven't done anything right! All I can remember doing is bringing everyone trouble and misfortune-- I'm _worthless_!"

"Sherry, shut up!" I said angrily. She was starting to go on another tirade about something I didn't want to hear. No way was she going to start that again. "You're not a failure... alright? So you can be quiet!"

She stood up and sniffed again, staring at the ground. Once more there was an awkward silence between the two of us.

"If... if I'm not a failure," began the other after a while, "Then... what do you think of me? Do you hate me?"

I stared at her before glancing to the ground. What was I supposed to say? My feelings towards her were too mixed up... I couldn't answer her question. I decided to avoid it. "Come on, we should try to head back to the mansion and get you cleaned up," I said, now turning away from her.

"But Brago... I have to know! What do you think of me?" She began to follow me as we both walked away from the area. "It's something you must tell me!"

"Not now, Sherry..." I murmured, keeping my gaze away from hers. She stopped after that, but I could tell she was anxious to hear my reply.

But what would I tell her? I... I didn't hate her... so then what was this feeling I had for her? Would I ever find out? Why was I acting like this anyway? Why was I suddenly feeling these new emotions?

And most importantly, would I ever be able to answer her question?

I don't think I would ever know...


	10. You Say You Know Me

_(squeals as I jump up and down) I have 91 episodes of Konjiki no Gash Bell ordered! I'm so happy now! n.n n.n n.n n.n Buwahahaha!_

_o.o' Uh... not bragging... just felt like letting everybody know.. I've been in a bad mood all day but this is something i keep telling myself to put me in a happy mood again..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own this but right now i really don't care! n.n_

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**Chapter 10**

**You Say You Know Me**

We finally got back to the ningen's mansion after a little while more of walking. Luckily I didn't have to carry her on the trip back since she had enough energy to travel on her own. The entire trip however she seemed rather... moody.

After the argument with Sherry's little _question_, she had been silent afterwards the entire walk back home. I assume that she was just thinking over the memory she regained-- the memory of her mother.

My family was never a large concern to me, but for her I suppose it was different. Before Sherry lost her memory, I do recall a few times when she mentioned her mother... I never really saw the woman, only a picture or two of her somewhere within that large mansion of hers. She was abused by her mother… that much I know. Childhood for her was difficult.

Both of us walked into the large, now empty mansion of hers. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sherry wrap her arms around herself and head into another room. Silently, I followed her and entered the doorway and watched as she sat down on the nearest couch.

I said nothing but looked around the space we were in. It was just a regular room with nothing special about it, aside from the fact that it had quite a few portraits of past Belmond family members and different couches and rugs all aligned to the side. The windows were large and when it was day, let in a plentiful amount of light.

Sherry sighed and curled up on the couch, staring out in the middle of nowhere. Her dress slightly moved off her leg and I could see multiple scratches from the fight earlier. Damn woman didn't even bother cleaning herself when she had the chance…

She then turned her azure orbs over in my direction and looked directly in my eyes. I turned away after a moment, wondering what she was thinking about this time.

From behind me, I could hear her sigh. We both probably stayed silent for a few minutes before she blurted out, "Brago, you said that I didn't act like this in the past. What did I act like? I need to know!"

_That_ was her important question? My eyes shifted over into her direction. She was staring at me with an upset look on her face. Sherry turned her head downwards and stared at her left hand, which she had grasped onto her other arm where another scratch was.

After hearing her issue I didn't respond. What was I to say? Her question needs to be clearer… From what she inquired, I could say whatever the hell I wanted and she would believe it (from how gullible she's become anyway…).

"Brago…" She stared at me with a pleading look. "I want to know – I _have_ to know! Please tell me." She shifted her position on the couch. "You say you know me, so tell me what you know! It's not fair that I don't even know myself!"

Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes, so the blonde wiped them away with her hand. Unfortunately that didn't work… she suddenly began bawling again like she had done now so many times. I looked off to the side, not wanting to see this little fit once more. I still couldn't help but feel sorry for her… _Damn sensibility…_

"First off," I said finally after a while, "The old Sherry never cried like this. She was tougher and more aware of what was going on." Folding my arms, I continued to stare at her. I don't think my proclamation helped any… She continued crying.

I just watched as she sat there, on the couch, making a complete fuss over the situation. Tears were rolling down her face like a waterfall. She began to hit the arm of the couch as she started talking in a rather loud, clearly upset, voice.

"IT'S NOT FAIR!" she screeched, "You knew how I acted – what I said, how I spoke, what my thoughts were – and I don't know a damn thing about myself anymore! WHY does it have to be this way? I hate this so much! IT'S SO DAMN UNFAIR!"

Still I said nothing, but watched as she stood up from her position on the furniture and began to kick the cushioned edges of the couch. After a few times of kicking it she stopped, pouted, and turned to face me with a large frown on her tearstained face. Suddenly after a few seconds, she whirled back around and, giving it all she had with all her might, swung her foot onto the couch one last time, letting a scream of pain out afterwards. Idiot…

Soon she settled down (a little anyway) and turned to face me again, a sharp look evident in her eyes. "You don't know how it is," she finally said bitterly, "I can't recall a thing about my past, and yet I woke up from a long sleep I was in and you were there in front of me, acting as if you knew me. And you still say you do, and you tell me that I acted differently. Yet when we finally… went to that place you said you 'found me,' it was almost as if I were in a dream… I remembered my mother…

"Brago… You don't know how painful it is… I remember all the screams, insults, and abuse my mother gave me… It was so incredibly painful… Yet it felt like a dream all at the same time," At this, she clenched her fists together and slightly began to shake her head. "It hurt… It hurt me so much… She punished me for things I didn't even mean to do. She called me a _failure_! Do you know how horrible it is, to be in an unusual place where everybody knows you but yourself, and the only thing you can remember is pain?"

I watched as tears began to trickle down her face even more. From looking at her expression and what she was talking about, I _could_ see emotion in her eyes.

Pain…

Never before had I really thought about what it must be like for the onna. As I said before, my family wasn't something of large concern to me, but for her, it was obviously different. I had never felt abuse before, but she had. I had never felt emotional pain before (and I don't plan on it), but she had. She had felt so much more than I had or ever plan to feel. And it wasn't by choice, it was forced upon her.

Not as if there was anything _I_ could do about it. So why was she telling me this?

"So please," she began, eyes shaking. "What was I like? I beg of you… please tell me…"

I sighed and looked away. There wasn't much choice of what I could do… So I decided to speak. "Well… You were very loyal to your promises," I said, "You were very confident in what you did and wouldn't ever let a target out of your sight. You weren't weak and stupid; you were strong and cunning… You read my spells with emotion, making them the strongest between ours and our opponents."

Her eyes lit up as I told her this. I could clearly see the happiness she was gaining as she learned more. She took a deep breath and almost seemed to hold it, but let it out slowly before asking, "How… how many spells did I help you gain?"

Closing my eyes, I began to think. How many _had_ we gained? Let's see… before all of this happened, we had just encountered that one boy not too long ago that I just _had_ to save a whole bunch of times… I had just learned the Dioga Gravidon, the fifth spell.

"Five," I said, turning my gaze back to the blonde. "You helped me gain five."

An illegible look overwhelmed her features. "Five…" she whispered. It vanished as her eyes lit up and she said, "I'm going to help you gain all five back then!" she said, tears continuing to form in her eyes, "I promise you that we'll have five before you even know it!"

I looked away from her as she lowered her head again. I could hear her murmuring things to herself silently (couldn't make out what she was saying though – it was even too quiet for _me_).

Turning back around, I just realized how distressed she looked. Her golden hair was mangled all on top of her head from the battle and continues stressing events, her face was tearstained, and she had scratches and bruises all over her pale body.

"I just want to remember again, Brago," said Sherry finally as I snapped out of my thoughts. I looked down at her as she stared over at me. "I want to make you happy… I know that you will be once I'm back to normal… That's all I want."

I said nothing but stared at her as she looked away from me. A red tint took an outbreak on her face and I felt slightly uncomfortable about this situation.

"_Just want to make you satisfied with me… That's all I want."_ I looked over at her with an odd look placed on my face as she let out an uneasy laugh. "You… You could use a smile on your face anyway," she said.

At this I frowned, not liking the new topic she was picking to talk about. "Maybe you should just go and get cleaned up and rest some…" I said, trying to make her move on with what she was doing.

Her sapphire eyes glittered as a weak smile played with her lips. "Alright… I'll do that." I could tell she was in somewhat of a good mood again when she let out an immature giggle and _skipped_ to the doorway, the blush still noticeable on her cheeks.

Before she walked off to go clean up, however, she stopped right in front of me and thanked me, before wrapping her arms around my shoulders and giving me a quick hug before she quickly ran off.

I stared with a bemused look on my face as I saw the last swish of her blonde hair go around the corner. A frown burrowed itself onto my face before I stormed off – muttering about how the new rule I had made was to _never_ hug me.

When I reached the foot of the steps I stopped and sighed, staring up at the ceiling. A smirk crept upon my lips as I realized that, even though just a little memory was regained, Sherry was slowly becoming her normal self again. She hadn't had too many mood swings lately… She just cried a lot. And before I knew it, her personality would be back and the Battle for King would continue on…

And the throne would surely be mine.

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_Uh... i s'pose the hug could be fluff. n.n 'Tis a little too early for anything else to happen... Heheheh..._

_Hopefully i'll have the next chapter up soon. I'm having some difficulties figuring out what i could do for the next chapter (any suggestions?)... Eh... -.-_

_Read and review! I'm signing off and am going to go get some burgers with my mom!_


	11. Moving on with the Plan

_Yeah... 'nother long update. Sorry 'bout that, but yet again i was busy. n.n Plus i couldn't think of what to do for this chapter... I should really work on planning ahead, shouldn't I? Well... at least there's the fact that i have certain things planned in my head for what'll happen, like what i'll have going on when Sherry regains her memory and personality back, when they find the culprit of who did it, who they'll fight, etc..._

_Hope the chapter's not boring, but i had to make it in order to set up the stage for a return of a certain character! Buwahahahahaha! (no, it's not Zophise. In fact, it's somebody Brago and Sherry have already fought. n.n If you know who they are and where they originally fought them, then good for you. 'Cause they're headed that way towards the fight!)_

_I have just discovered the fun and joys of drawing chibis... Heeheehee! n.n_

_Enjoy the chapter! Read and review!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki no Gash Bell and I never will, so get that strait or prepare to face the men in white coats!_

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**Chapter 11**

**Moving on with the Plan**

Two weeks and three days had passed since Sherry regained some of her memory. Every day she seemed to contemplate more and more on what she could recall and was still rather upset about the fact that this was all she had left of her past. Yet no matter what happened, she would return to that obnoxious hyperactive mood.

Not that I had been complaining about it. As a matter of fact, I believed it was better for her to laugh than to cry all the time. Because I knew that now, with the way she had been acting, she would come to _me_ when she was upset. Although I wished that this was over with... Even though she was happy she still didn't read my spells with enough emotion. The previous Sherry's anger and hate towards all demons (especially one in particular) had given her an enormous amount of power that we used to our advantage.

Speaking of which, just the other week we had regained the Giganoreis spell; Sherry was thrilled about this. That meant that there were only two spells left until we were back to where we had previously been: the Ion Gravirei and the Dioga Gravidon. When we regained it we had been training, and the next thing we knew Sherry could read another spell. I remembered for a while that this had been one of our most powerful attacks... But after I gained the next two, those had become our strongest. Although my Dioga Gravidon was one of my strongest attacks, I knew I still had others. Sherry just hadn't unlocked them yet. I wondered when she would...

Training with Sherry had become slightly... easier, if you will. For once she would actually _listen_ to me, or at least attempted to; the old Sherry never exactly listened to me either. But give her about an hour and she'd be back to doing whatever it was she enjoyed doing... I was curious as to whether complaining was one of them, because she would certainly do that quite a bit. This angered me, but there was nothing I could do about it. If I threatened her, she would cry. If I did nothing to her, then she'd either yell at me for not giving her any attention, or she too would do nothing... literally, or, again, she would cry. Something always bothered her...

I guess we weren't so different from another after all...

However, now that Sherry had been getting better at fighting (we hadn't been in a battle once since our last fight-- the one we failed), I believed that it was now time we went exploring around the world like we used to do. The only reason we had come back to her mansion in the first place was to pick up more supplies... And then that was when she lost her memories and personality.

When I had told Sherry this, she was not pleased. She yelled at me and said that this was her home, and that she didn't want to leave. I merely responded that if we were to find more demons to defeat then we would have to leave the mansion sooner or later anyway... They wouldn't just come to us like they had been for the past two battles.

"_Sherry, I remember you saying that you wanted these battles to end quickly," I said as I fixed my gaze upon the upset woman in front of me. "So why don't we just go already? There are plenty of other demons out there that we could defeat!"_

_Shaking her head violently, the woman took a step back and stared at me harshly. "No! I don't want to fight, Brago," she said as her eyes gleamed. "Besides, you said that when a demon's book was burnt they'd go back to the Makai, right?"_

_I nodded my head._

"_Well, I can't afford to lose you! What if we went out to battle and your book caught on fire? I don't want to risk that! I don't want to lose you, Brago. I couldn't bear it if you left...!" Tears were now rolling down her eyes as she said this and after a moment she averted her gaze to me, and we held eye contact for a long minute. "Please, Brago, don't do this... You said you had more spells, ne? Then we can just regain them and---"_

"_There's no time for that, Sherry." I shook my head with an aggravated sigh. "We haven't gained much here in the few weeks this whole event started. We're behind in everything... We need to get moving. The spells will appear quicker if we actually go out and do something."_

_"But I have been doing something!" insisted Sherry. "I've been training here... with you. You mean a lot to me, so we're not going!" A blush took an outbreak on her face as she said that so she turned her head away, breaking the eye contact._

_I sighed heavily and looked around. This was getting annoying...She was so stubborn at times. But I couldn't help but feel an unusual feeling inside my chest. Damn, this had been happening more and more often... Would it just go away?_

_I turned back around with a scowl clearly seen on my face and said: "It doesn't matter what you say, Sherry. We're heading out. Pick a random place on a globe and we'll head there as soon as we can."_

_With a huff, Sherry turned around after stomping her foot. "Fine!" she snapped. "But don't blame me if anything happens, alright?"_

At least I had gotten her to accept the answer, no matter how much she hated it. Currently we were on a bus, headed for the airport. We were to leave for Germany in a couple of hours...

I sat to the left of the woman near the very back of the bus with my arms folded across my chest. Sherry had been staring out the window for quite some time now, watching the scenery whirl by. Next to her foot was a small bag that she had used to pack and carry everything she needed (I managed to persuade her that she didn't need to bring in her entire closet-- which she would have done if I had said nothing); my black book was lying on her lap.

I always felt comfortable when my book was where I could see it... especially if Sherry had it. And it wasn't just here recently I started feeling this. I had always felt this way because I knew that the woman was loyal to me and wouldn't let that book out of her sight-- no matter what happened. Even with her old personality gone she still did some of the things the old Sherry would do... Just like this.

In front of us was a girl quietly reading a book, next to her an elder lady was skimming through a newspaper; and to the right of Sherry was some punk listening to music on headsets. Off to the side was a boy and girl talking about different things, the boy had his arm wrapped around the girl's shoulders while her head was leaning on his. I heard Sherry sigh after a minute, and when I turned around I noticed that she was eyeing the two.

"If only..." she mused in a distant voice, her eyes sparkling as she said that. I gave her an odd look as my brow deepened to a frown. She seemed to feel me staring at her, so she turned to look at me with a slight hint of pink on her face. "W-what?"

"What was that about?"

Her blush deepened and she quickly turned away. I don't think I'd ever understand her with this nonsense going through her mind...

Eventually the bus came to a stop and Sherry grabbed her things and we both hopped off the bus since we were now at the airport. I looked up and realized that we had been to this one only once before... It was when we had first started our travels in the beginning of the war...

"Come on, Brago," Sherry said as we headed into the main building. I stared around us: there were so many different humans walking around carrying luggage and headed in random directions. There were some who were off to the side, chatting about flights to take or others at a shop or sitting down. I hated how these places were like labyrinths... So confusing...

Somebody suddenly walked by and bumped right into me, knocking me on the shoulder. I growled lowly as I turned my eyes in the direction of the human who had run into me.

I also hated how crowded these damn airports were...

"Brago?" Sherry was staring at me oddly when she heard me mutter a curse. I turned to look back at her, trying to push that the other annoying human out of my mind.

"It's nothing." She seemed to accept that answer, so we continued on our way.

After a while of getting prepared for the flight and talking to some ningen at a desk in the front of the building after waiting in line for who knows how long, the two of us finally managed to find where our flight was and sat down on two rather uncomfortable chairs. All the seats were slightly rundown looking and had a dull grey color to them... So different compared to Sherry's at her mansion.

I stared out the windows that were behind us and could see a variety of planes, each a different size and color. One of them was pulling out while in the background I could see one landing. I turned back around to look at Sherry, who had a smile on her face, her eyes sparkling.

"I can't wait to go to Germany!" she said and I blinked. I thought that she _didn't_ want to go. Since it was on my mind, I asked her reason why and she merely replied with a giggle: "I changed my mind."

With an aggravated sigh I rested my elbow on the arm of the chair and placed my chin in my palm. "Whatever," I said and there was a silence. From where I was I could see a group of people headed towards our section and they ended up sitting right behind us. I glared at one of them whom were staring at me and he quickly scrambled away from his standing point to be with his group, almost immediately engaging in conversation. There was a sudden surge of loud, annoying voices drifting into my ears and I growled with agitation.

Great... more noisy humans...

"Oi, Brago," I turned to look beside me where the woman was after I heard her call me. She looked around for a quick second (I guess to make sure that nobody was listening) and then turned around to face me once more. "Do you think we'll find any demons in Germany to fight?"

After a moment of thinking, I just smirked and replied back, "I'm sure we will."

An unhappy expression overwhelmed her features and she stared at the ground, fiddling with her thumbs slightly. "Oh..."

Just by reading the expression on her face, I knew what she was thinking about. I didn't know what compelled me to do so, but I took my left hand and rested it on the woman's shoulder. "My book isn't going to get burnt," I reassured her. I still didn't know why I did that...

Sherry merely looked at me oddly and then smiled slightly as another blush spread across her face. "Alright..." She rested her hand on top of mine, which was still on her shoulder, and for some damn reason I didn't remove it. I just didn't feel the need to do so...

We both probably sat like that until the position became rather uncomfortable. I removed my left hand from her shoulder and set it back in my lap. I then noticed that the people around us were now beginning to stand.

"Get up, we're leaving," I said as I too stood up as well. Sherry nodded and grabbed her bag and my book as we both headed in line.

I wasn't sure what kind of mamodo we would find or face in Germany, but I knew that something or another would happen while we were there. I was sure of it.

I just didn't know _what_ quite yet.


	12. Uncanny

_Alrighty then, the next chapter is here! Uh... again, nothing REALLY happens until the next chapter. n.n' Heehee, didn't want to make it all start right away, y'know?_

_Well anywho... Read and review!_

_Disclaimer: I own my imagination so i can do whatever the hell i want to with this, so HA! I don't care if i don't own this!_

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**Chapter 12**

**Uncanny**

I had almost forgotten that it took quite a while to travel in the human world, though I'll admit I'd rather travel long distances in the air instead of the road. I preferred it because it was much faster. Luckily since Sherry was born into a wealthy human family she had money that allowed us get on a "first class flight"-- as humans called it-- where we wouldn't be bothered by others. It wasn't too bad, I supposed; the first time I rode on a plane it had been "first class", as Sherry said.

I merely shrugged. I didn't care what humans called it, it was a method of transportation and that's all I gave a damn about. Why did humans have to name everything?

Before we got onto the plane, I found out that the trip would be a little over thirteen hours. Well this was great! Such a waste of time! I wanted to get a move on with the battles. We were about three weeks behind schedule-- even though that may sound like nothing to others, it was important to me! Before, I remember gaining much more power than I had in the Makai in just _one_ week. Imagine how much I could gain in _three_!

I was not calling myself weak, oh, certainly not, but this wasn't enough power for me. I needed more if I were to become King! I've lost valuable time that I cannot regain and I knew this would come back to haunt me, I was certain of it.

So we got on the train and sat down, prepared to take flight and soon we were airborne. Sherry sat by the window and I on the edge; for a while I merely watched her as she gazed out beyond the skies, staring into the darkened horizon. I couldn't help but notice how calm and alluring she was when she was happy...

I blinked.

Now _when the_ _hell_ did I ever come up with _alluring_? Preposterous! Just because my human was a female and--

I did it again.

I averted my gaze from the woman and turned to look in front of me and rubbed my eyes gently with my right hand. Damn it... what was wrong with me? I was losing my head...

With a sigh I leaned back against the chair and stared at the ceiling of the plane. We had only been flying for about three hours... Last time I was on a plane the maximum amount of time I had been cooped up in the machine was half the amount of time of this. Now I'd have to deal with my unwanted thoughts _even longer_.

I want off this thing...

Not as if I could do anything about it now. Unless I wanted to become what humans called a "skydiver" and kill myself in the process and never gain the crown I deserved, then I was stuck here-- there was nothing I could do.

Sherry seemed to sense my state of distress so she turned to look upon me with a questioning look and asked, "You alright?"

"I'm fine," I immediately snapped back. She got the message so she turned back around to look out the window when she suddenly yawned. "I wonder how much longer we have..."

"At least ten hours. We've been flying for about three already."

"_Ten_?" The woman turned to stare at me with her mouth agape. "But that's too long!"

"Deal with it," I said monotonously. "Until we land we're stuck on this thing."

Sherry pouted. "That's no fun..." The woman sunk back into the cushioned seat and closed her eyes, pushing the chair back so it would be at an angle. "Well, I feel rather tired so I think I'll take a nap." With another yawn she shifted her position to make herself more conformable and slowly began to relax. I stared from Sherry and then to the window beside her.

Outside it was dark and I could see glittering stars scattered across the dark sky. Night had befallen the globe and we probably wouldn't reach Germany until around six in the morning. On Japan's time, it was already eight o'clock, or so it said on a human's watch that I saw strode by coming from the restrooms on the plane.

Perhaps this would be a good time to do some well needed meditation... That was a good idea, plus it would help pass the time, so I relaxed and closed my eyes, clearing my mind in the process.

This plane better land soon...

-o-o-o-o-o-

After the horrendously long flight, the plane finally landed. Sherry, surprisingly, slept most of the time during the trip. That was good; that meant she wouldn't bother me, which she didn't. I had been in deep meditation the entire journey, something I hadn't been in for a long while. I needed it anyway if I were to cope with Sherry's odd behavior.

We climbed off the plane and soon headed out into the crowded airport. I looked around at the signs on the walls and scowled. I had no idea what this language was but I really didn't care. There was no need for communication among these other humans, I was only here to find more demons and help Sherry regain her memory, if we could even _do_ that while we were here.

Around us there were many people speaking the same different language-- I had never heard it before. Sherry seemed to be just fine as we walked along the crowded hallway of the German airport. After a while I just turned to stare at the woman but said nothing. She turned her head to face me and stared back, a few seconds later her eyes widened and she blushed. I supposed she could tell what I was thinking.

"Uh... I remember Mother teaching me German when I was younger. It was one of the only good things she ever did to me," she said and then blinked. "I suppose that's one thing I haven't forgotten...?"

"Great," I muttered lowly, "You can forget your past but you can't forget a damn language. Why couldn't it be the other way around?"

"Sorry," Sherry hastened her pace to keep up with me after regaining her grip on one of the bags in her hand. "It's not my fault that this happened, you know."

"How can I believe that, Sherry?" I inquired without turning to look at her. "You don't know how you lost your memory, therefore you can't tell me anything."

"Well... I'll try to remember then!"

"You've been trying to remember for weeks."

"But this time I'll make a difference, I swear!"

"Hn," I said nothing more and that last note immediately ended the conversation.

Soon after we found our way out of the airport and, about an hour later of exploring the town, we stumbled upon a good hotel that we could stay in. The place was another one of those high class hotels that Sherry usually picked out. All the rooms were highly decorated and had everything to make her happy. Tch, not that it _really_ mattered...

"Brago, what are we to do next?" Sherry asked after flopping onto the bed in her room. A sigh was released from her lips as she stared up to the ceiling and then averted her gaze to me.

I leaned against the wall in the doorway with my arms folded and spoke, "We'll have to go search for another demon as soon as we can," I said, "if we are to continue competing in this war for the throne."

Sherry growled and sat up on the bed, folding her legs together and glared. "I still don't like that idea. I really don't want to lose you..."

"My book isn't going to get burned, Sherry."

"I know, but..." she trailed off and scooted to the edge of the bed, staring out the window. "We'll have to separate in the end anyway... I don't want that..." she whispered. I said nothing.

After a moment of watching her look out the window I turned to look too: It was still dark, in Germany's time it was about 12 a.m. We had actually arrived in Germany at 11, but it took us about an hour to find a good hotel, one that would suit Sherry's desires. The woman sighed once more and let herself fall to the bed again, stretching out her arms on the mattress. "That trip was exhausting... Even though I slept the entire time I'm still tired!"

My eyes narrowed. "Don't be getting weaker now from sleeping," I said. "I'm not going to risk you becoming poor in battle because of too much sleep."

"Well..." With a shrug, Sherry rolled over onto her stomach and propped her head up by placing her chin in her hands, her elbows on the bed. "I should at least try getting used to this new time," she said. "It _is_ different from Japan's, you know."

"Hn, then hurry up and get used to it."

"You're mean."

"Whoever said I was courteous?"

"I didn't say _courteous_," retorted Sherry, now sitting up a little more. "I just said you were being mean right there. Besides, I actually see you as a really nice person." At this she blushed and lowered her gaze. "Or... most of the time, anyway..."

"Whatever," I stood up strait and unfolded my arms, staring at the blonde. "Get some sleep while you're at it, I'll wake you up in a few of hours and we'll head out."

Before the blonde could respond or do anything else, I spun around and flipped the light switch down, turning the lights off. Sherry's room immediately went dark and I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.

As I walked over to the window on the door that led out to the deck, I stopped walking when I heard Sherry open her door. I looked around and saw her peering out to look at me. Quietly she opened the door just a little more and stepped out of the room.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," she said as she walked up to me, now holding onto her arms.

"You need to sleep," was all I said. My ruby gaze turned upon the woman. "Aren't you going to take the time I just gave you and rest?"

"Anou..." Sherry stared at the ground and bit her lip. "I want to be stronger, Brago," she said and I nodded. I could at least understand that. "But I can't if I'm always lying around on the job. I want to do the best I can the next time in battle so we won't fail like last time!" The ningen unfolded her arms and clutched her hands tightly together and then put on a determined face.

I sighed and turned away. Alright... She was improving. Now what?

"Brago... I won't sleep right away... how about that?" I looked back down only to meet her pleading azure eyes. "Just let me do something for once that'll make you happy..." At this, the blush that was already on her face brightened to a deeper shade of red. This I ignored.

In response, I merely shook my head, still rejecting her opposition. "No, Sherry, it's still late. I'm not going to have you get tired during battle, so you're going to sleep."

Sherry frowned. "But Brago--"

"No, that's my final answer."

With a sigh, Sherry nodded her head and pouted. "Fine... You're still being mean!" At this, the blonde stuck her tongue out at me and ran back into her room. I just silently leaned against the wall with my eyes closed, listening to the sounds coming from my bookkeeper's room. I could tell she was probably unpacking...

I sighed. I knew something was going to happen very soon... I knew something would. But what...?

The sounds coming from the blonde's room stopped and I opened my eyes as she poked her head out of the door once more, opening it up a little so she could look through. "Well, since you're being a Meany head I'm going to sleep," she said angrily. "Good night!" At this, she slammed the door shut. Bet somebody besides me heard that...

I sighed and rested my head against the wall. And still she acted like a child...

There was a creaking sound and I turned to look towards Sherry's door. Once again she had opened it and was staring out, this time an innocent look was seen on her features.

"Um... Brago?" Sherry asked in a timid like voice. "You'll wake me up, right...?"

I stared. "Why wouldn't I? You never wake up on your own anyway." _But the old Sherry did..._ Woman...

"Alrighty, Braggadocio!" With a smile, Sherry gently closed the door and I could see her turn out the lights in her room, which she had turned back on when she previously went back inside. I glared. Damn nickname...

Well, at least we would be getting a head start tomorrow. Hopefully Sherry would get some sleep so she could be well prepared for any battles that may occur.

Sitting down, I closed my eyes and crossed my legs together. I could use this as time to do some meditation... That always passed the time, and it was useful to get through the plane flight. Morning would come sooner than I knew it...

-o-o-o-o-o-

Morning finally arose and I had to wake my bookkeeper up. It was a decent time in the morning to get ready for whatever the day had planned for us. She better be ready...

When I opened the door to her room, I saw that she was indeed fast asleep. How can she possibly sleep this much, I wondered as I looked around the room. My black book was lying on one of the tables, Sherry's luggage bags thrown to the other side of the room. Her pink dress was hanging on its hanger on the door handle to the bathroom. On the bed, Sherry laid there with a white nightgown on.

Not to waste anymore time, I called out to the blonde to wake up. She stirred in her sleep and, after a moment, turned to look in my direction. "Is it morning yet...?"

"Yes," I said in an aggravated tone. "Now wake up."

"Fine! Just get out of my room so I can change."

I nodded my head and closed the door once again. As I walked away from the door I could hear her grumble inside her room. You had plenty of sleep, Sherry, no reason to complain...

For a while I waited as I leaned against the wall once again. Sherry was taking her sweet time in getting dressed today... Couldn't she just throw her regular outfit on and be done with it?

Finally after a few more minutes, Sherry emerged from her room once more with my black book in hand. She giggled as she skipped over to my side, a large, vivid smile seen on her face, her eyes gleaming.

"Morning!" she said cheerfully as she reached my side. I stared at her with an odd look but right then I felt that same feeling inside of my chest, this time it tugged rather hard which caused me gasp and turn away for a second to catch my breath.

_What the hell was that? It keeps getting worse... I need to find out what this feeling is so I can stop it..._

"Brago... Are you alright?" A look of concern immediately formed on Sherry's face as she looked at me with her blue eyes. She rested her hand on my shoulder and, from the lowered angle she was at, looked up at me. "Brago?"

Realizing that she was observing me I quickly regained my composure and brushed her hand away. "I'm fine," I said and slowly began to walk. "I'm fine..."

Damn it... What's going on with me? Why was it affecting me? Nothing was supposed to make me feel this way-- not a damn thing! Every time that feeling arose it became stronger... And it _always_ happened when I looked at or said something to _her_.

What the hell was it?

"OK..." Sherry said as she turned her gaze away. Her blush returned.

"Let's go," I said and we headed out the door. Sherry followed behind me, clutching my book in her arms. Mentally I sighed. I knew she'd keep that book safe...

For a while we just roamed around the city and soon came across a village after a few hours, Sherry also grabbed something to eat here. Day had already come in and the bright summer's Sun shined down on both of us, warming the area around us.

I could tell that Sherry was enjoying the weather; she was smiling even more than before. For as long as I could, I tried to avoid her gaze. I didn't want that feeling to suddenly arise again; it was irritating and annoyed the hell out of me.

On the edge of the village though, I spotted two particular people that made me instantly stop in my tracks. Sherry saw my actions and she too stared in front of us.

"Brago..." she breathed, "Is... is that really them?"

I nodded yet said nothing. I was still staring in the direction ahead of us. Not too far off was the team we had previously failed against in our last battle.

It was Furigaro and his bookkeeper. They were here in Germany.

* * *

_Meep! I've been on YouTube recently and an episode was put up, i dunno if it's true, probably is, but it's supposed to be the LAST episode of KnGB! EEP! I'm sad now that it's over. T-T If anyone wants to know which episode it is it's episode 150. I'm sayin' nothin' more._

_Anywho..._

_Next chapter:_

_**Ice Cold**: Sherry and Brago fight against their past enemies, Furigaro and his_ _bookkeeper, Gerhardt. But something unexpected happens to Brago that makes Sherry quite concerned..._


	13. Ice Cold

_I swear i've been working on stories all day, particularly my AGftD story (trying to finish that up before i update it again), even through watching the Miyazaki movie i was writing stuff. And now Zatch Bell has aired and Patie finallyappeared... Speaking of which..._

_WHY THE HELL DID THEY RENAME HER **PENNY**?_

_Anywho... Hope the fight was alright, i was trying to get it to how it was in the manga. Yes, i wasn't doing it like the anime scene, the manga scene is MUCH better and MUCH cooler than the animated version... THUS i am going to go by that. But of course, since this ispretty much an AU and the characters are acting differently towards another and i'm making Sherry act like a little 5-year old at times, of course i made it slightly different at the end! XD_

_Yeah. Now i'm babbling. Just read the chapter already...-. -._

_Disclaimer: I don't own this so le'mme alone._

_NOTE: Oh, yeah, forgot to say this but i've now adapted the Japanese spells so they're in here in this chapter. n.n_

**

* * *

**

Erased

**Chapter 13**

**Ice Cold**

I stared in the direction of the only team we had failed against. Furigaro was walking, more so _crawling_, next to his human bookkeeper. The human carried the demon's pale blue book to his side in his right arm. I could see them, walking right towards us. Apparently they hadn't noticed us yet considering the fact that the human was somewhat looking around the village, talking to his demon counterpart who couldn't speak the same tongue as he.

They were quite a few yards ahead of us but I could see them quite clearly traveling on the pebbled road. Both were now in front of a pastry shop that a few other humans just walked into.

Sherry clutched onto my arm, still holding my book in her arms. I didn't flinch when she did this; I was too preoccupied with what was in front of me-- _who_ was in front of me...

"Brago... Are we going to fight?" asked the woman in a quiet voice. "Last time we failed against these guys..."

I said nothing still but noticed that the other team finally spotted us. The human stopped and a second later, Furigaro noticed his bookkeeper's actions and stared in front of us, soon emitting low growls.

The human and I probably held eye contact for at least a minute: He stared at me with a blank look while I merely glared. It was then he smirked, tilted his head to the side and finally spoke.

"Look, Furigaro, it's those weak failures again," he said with a cocky tone to his voice as he tilted his head to the side, resting his hand on his hip. My glare deepened.

"Who're you calling weak, ningen?" I snapped back, now taking a step forward. Sherry silently glanced in my direction, apparently wondering what I was going to do next. Beat the crap out of him if he doesn't shut up, that's what I would do. But I think I'd hurt him anyway even if he _did..._

"Heh," The human chuckled a little before shaking his head. His arrogant look and attitude soon vanished and was replaced by a serious, determined look, his brow deepened as a frown overtook his features. "Well, now that we've had our little reunion," began the human, drawing his book close to his chest, "I think it's time for a rematch."

It was then that I heard Sherry gulp and I turned to look at her. I could see a bead of sweat trickle down the side of her face, probably from anxiety. Her grip around my arm tightened and I finally decided to point this out to her.

"Sherry... You can let go of my arm now."

She blushed but reluctantly released her grip from me, bringing my book to her chest, blocking it in a protective manner. I turned my attention back to the other team whom still hadn't moved from their spot.

"So, where are we to fight?" I asked, aiming my question towards the other human. He seemed to pause for a moment, most likely thinking of the best spot where there would not be any distractions. The man cupped his chin with his hand and thought for a moment, only after a minute dropping it and turning to look in my direction once more.

"On the hillside at the end of this village," he said. "That's where we'll fight. Be there in twenty minutes."

I nodded my head to show that I understood and accepted the terms. Alright, we were to fight again in twenty minutes. How would Sherry cope with this though? In response to my personal thoughts, I looked down at her and saw that she was biting her lower lip, her golden brows arched down. She was still holding onto my book rather tightly and she soon glanced up at me after realizing I was looking at her.

"We're going to fight... Aren't we?" she inquired softly, a hint of nervousness in her voice. I nodded my head and she sighed, glancing at the ground, and said nothing more.

"Be there," said the other human, now turning away. Furigaro stayed for a moment, staring at us through his baggy hair over his eyes, and soon followed his bookkeeper. After a moment they disappeared from sight, probably heading to the designated area where we were supposed to have our rematch.

Sherry whimpered and took a wary step back. I stared at her. "We're going to have to fight sometime or another, Sherry," I said quietly. "You have no choice but to fight."

"I know, I know, but..." She trailed off, looking to the other side of the town as she avoided eye contact. "We lost against them when we first battled them... Do you really think we could win again?" The woman now turned her head to look at me after asking her question.

"Hn... We can win," I said reassuringly. But it was true; Sherry still wasn't as good as she had been in the past when it came to fighting, unfortunately. Would we lose? No, I wouldn't allow it, but we hadn't even gained the third spell yet... I didn't know what to think.

With a nod of her head, Sherry gazed in front of us where our rivals had previously stood. She clutched my book tightly in her arms before stepping forward, almost unwillingly.

"Well, we should get this over with then," she said as she walked ahead. I followed her and we headed up the pathway, walking towards where the battleground was located.

I knew that Sherry wasn't looking forward to this battle. Although she wasn't, I was, and I even smirked a little just thinking about what was ahead.

I still enjoyed the thrill of being pushed to my limits and facing strong enemies. The need for a worthy battle coursed through my veins, through my very blood. I _needed_ a good fight. Though I knew if we had more spells and if Sherry hadn't lost her memory or personality, we could take this team on without a sweat. But now I was curious as to how well she could fight. Yes, she had gotten better since the last time during training, but still... What would happen?

I would soon find out.

-o-o-o-o-o-

We had finally reached the battlegrounds where we were to have our rematch. Off in the distance I could see mountains rising up to the sky, along the borders of some of them I could see buildings. One of them was the village we had just left, where we met up with Furigaro and his bookkeeper.

Everyone stood on grassy ground, the wildflowers swayed gently in the wind to the side, and Sherry kept her distance from the team. She stood right behind me, perhaps about arm's length away. Located in front of us was the other team, book already opened and I could tell they were very well prepared for this fight.

They were almost as excited as I was.

And then the fight started with the call of the first spell...

_"Raajia Furizudo!"_

The quick, surge of ice swept across the field, aiming towards Sherry and I. Both of us dodged the attack easily but watched as the lush, green grass on the ground turned rigid and solid; part of it was now a slick sheet of ice. I turned around only to see Furigaro charging towards where Sherry was and I growled.

No way was I letting him off _that_ easily!

I jumped forward and managed to get in front of Sherry before the ice demon could. Just as I leapt in front of her I hissed, "Cast a spell!" She got the message.

As quickly as I had ran in front of her, Sherry held up my book in her hands and it started to glow brightly. Sucking in a breath of air quickly, the woman soon cried out my second spell.

"_Gurabirei!"_

I felt the same, gravitational energy gathering in my palm as I thrust my hand downward, aiming my attack on the enemy. Furigaro was engulfed in the energy and rapidly forced to the ground.

With a smirk I jumped backwards a few feet, Sherry mimicked my actions. "Call out another spell," I said and she nodded her head, flipping the page of the book.

_"Giganoreisu!"_

This time she called out our most recent spell; my larger version of Reisu soon appeared and was quickly launched from my hand. Unfortunately the effects of Gurabirei had ended, thus freeing Furigaro from its grasp. The demon stood up and avoided the attack just in the nick of time. I glared as he jumped backwards and then ran around my attack, now heading back towards me.

He jumped forwards, tackling me while doing so, sending us both to the ground. I fell to my back and kicked the shaggy demon off of me, sending him flying a few feet away from my standing point. While he was in the air his book owner called out yet another spell, yet this time shards of ice shot out of his mouth instead of a stream.

I immediately covered my face with my hands, shielding myself from the attack. The blades of ice scraped my bare arms, piercing my skin slightly as they rushed by quickly. As soon as I was hit I stood back up and ran forward, Sherry called out another spell while Furigaro's bookkeeper did the same.

_"Reisu!"_

_"Ganzu Gikoru!"_

Both of our attacks, my gravitational and his ice, swept across the field and came in contact with one another, causing a clash to occur and a small explosion. Dust was sent racing my way and I moved my hand in front of my eyes, trying to sense where the enemy was.

At least I knew that this time we had a better chance against the enemy. Sherry wasn't panicking as much as she had been last time; in fact she seemed to be in control of herself...

It better stay that way...

_"Raajia Furizudo!"_

"Hn?" My head jerked to the side only to see ice coming my way. Quickly I ran out of its path, narrowly escaping. More ground was turned to ice and I watched as it spread out over a large distance. Over to the side, Sherry stood there, staring at me and Furigaro as we fought.

I gave her a look that clearly said 'Another spell!' and she nodded her head. Flipping the book open to another page she screeched out, "_Reisu!"_

As the energy gathered in my hand once more I ran up beside Furigaro and shot out my spell. He dodged it.

Damn...

So the fight continued on, me vs. Furigaro, the ice demon. I was unsure of how much time swept by, but it was good enough to suit my liking. At least I could have some thrill in fighting for once... It had been a while since I fought an enemy that brought at least _some_ form of excitement, though I always had to be cautious of Sherry's actions and where she was and minor details like that.

Time swept by and we both inflicted great damage to each other, bruises were forming on my arms from colliding with Furigaro's fists and there were a few cuts too from his ice shards that he would occasionally shoot out. Sherry had her fair share of the fight as well. There were a couple of times where I had to knock her out of the way in order to dodge one of the other demon's attacks from hurting her or burning my book.

The other team seemed to be losing though, and that was good. I smirked maliciously at the thought of winning. I could barely taste victory... It was almost here! Victory would be ours...

But suddenly, as we were going through the entire routine of the battle, Sherry slipped on some ice that was scattered across the ground and fell down hard. I heard her scream and turned to look at her, she was laying on her back with her eyes wide. And unfortunately she did this _right_ when Furigaro was letting out an attack... Dammit!

"Sherry!" I shouted, but it was too late. The shards of ice that were emitted from the ice demon's mouth came shooting across the field. Sherry's eyes widened in terror and she shut them quickly, turning around to block my book from the attack.

She screamed as the ice sliced the edges of her back, ripping some of the dress off as well. The woman rolled a few feet away and slid a little more from where she had previously been lying; I could see hints of blood stains on her back and a few red droplets were seen on the ice, staining it with its crimson color.

I cursed under my breath and instinctively ran over to her to try and get her up. It was hard to keep my balance over the slick ice but I managed quite well and skidded to a stop when I reached the woman. Bending down, I helped her stand up and asked if she was alright.

She nodded her head and replied a little shakily, "Y-yeah... I'm OK..." There was a weak smile forming on her face but it soon went away, I said nothing.

Suddenly there was a bright light blinding me for a quick second as it caught me off guard. Both Sherry and I stared down only to see that my book was glowing more vibrant than ever...

"Brago..." The woman's eyes widened and glittered as she looked up to me, soon turning her attention back to the book. She flipped it open and, to both our surprise, a new line appeared in the book.

In other words...

"It's the new spell..." she breathed, her expression brightening. Sherry looked up at me again and then down to the book, and then up to me again. "Brago! It's a new spell, I can read it now!"

"Good," I said as I stood up, facing the enemy who was staring at us in disbelief. "Use it." If I was correct, this was my fourth spell, and I knew _exactly_ which one it was...

"Hai!" Sherry stood up, now more determined than ever. The other team was staring at us with eyes wide in horror. Did they know what was going on?

Maybe, but that didn't matter.

I finally heard my fourth spell again when Sherry cried it out, "_Aian Gurabirei!"_ More energy than what was gathered with my second spell began to form in my hand and I took a step back in order to regain my balance as I thrust the attack forward. The heavy load of gravity poured out from my hand like water from a cup and was sent directly to the other team.

Ah, how this spell brought back memories...

In a desperate attempt to escape being injured any further, Furigaro's bookkeeper shouted out, "_Sukeipu Gishirudo!"_ and then in an instant, his demon counterpart summoned an ice shield around both of them.

I smirked when I saw my attack shatter their shield like glass, the fragmented barrier collapsed right over their heads and the two dodged my attack. This was a great spell of mine; I knew this would help us win the battle.

After hearing the other curse slightly, I began to run forward in attempts to try and end the battle quickly, and lay some damage on the ice demon. However, the next spell they sent forth surprised me...

_"Ragikoru Fangu!"_

What? I had never heard this spell before... I didn't know what it would do! I watched in bewilderment as Furigaro slapped his hands against the ground and I paused. Suddenly the earth beneath our feet began to shake and I looked all around me.

What was going on? Where was the spell?

"BRAGO!"

"Nani?" I spun around and my eyes widened in horror when I saw energy being released from the ground. Both Sherry and I stared as a sudden wind swept across the area, blowing her hair and dress around and my cape. It was then I realized it wasn't wind, it was a spell.

The spell was coming from underneath her!

"Sherry!" I roared. Without thinking I ran forward as fast as my legs could carry me, trying to reach where my bookkeeper was. She stared at me in a helpless way and I reached my hand out to her in attempts to push her out of the spell's path. I looked down and saw an icy wolf emerging from the ground, its jaws wide open.

My hand then came in contact with Sherry's body and she was forced to the ground, away from the new spell's wrath, but it was too late for me.

All of a sudden I felt as if something was immediately missing. My entire left arm went numb and I stared bemusedly in front of me in the middle of nowhere. The events of what just happened to me didn't register until a twinge of pain finally shot up my shoulder and slightly on my neck. I growled and staggered forward, my right arm clutching my left, and looked to where I rested my hand. I couldn't help but gasp in shock.

My left arm wasn't there anymore...

Instead of where it should have been I only saw my incomplete left arm with blood dripping down my side; the feeling of something missing completely overwhelmed me. Of _course_ there was something missing, dammit, it was my arm!

Sherry wheezed as she stared a few feet away from me, I looked too. Well, at least I knew where my left arm was... I watched as she closed her eyes and I growled to myself, now running to go grab my detached arm. Since there was no place to really carry it with I just seized it and placed it in my jaws, now darting towards where the other team stood. Apparently they had forgotten about me, since they were now taking interest in where Sherry was.

I heard Furigaro's bookkeeper command him to kill her (_no way in hell would I let him do that_) and then I shouted out, "Sherry!"

In the distance, the woman's eyes bolted open and she stared to where I was. Her mouth was slightly agape and the other team turned to look where I was too, they looked as equally surprised as her.

"Keep your eyes open, woman!" I said as I continued, I raised my right arm in the direction of the enemy. "For in our battles, whoever keeps their eyes the open the longest wins!"

I gave her another look and she stared at me blankly but soon nodded, holding up the book. In a loud, clear voice, she shrieked: "_Giganoreisu!"_

Once again the energy gathered in my hand and my more powerful version of my first spell was sent hurtling towards the other team. Furigaro's book owner screamed out a curse as he ducked, dropping their book in the process. His demon took the full impact as my gravitational attack overwhelmed him and his book, burning it in the process.

The human looked back up only to see that his demon counterpart was slowly dissolving away, and he quickly shot a terrified yet nasty glance my way before running off into the distance, heading towards the village.

In a matter of seconds Furigaro left the Ningenkai and completely disappeared; ashes were all that remained of his book.

I probably stood there for about a minute before the realization that we actually won sunk in. I took a deep breath and sighed heavily before I sat on the ground, holding onto my left arm. Opening my jaws a little I let go of my arm, which had been in my mouth, and watched as it fell to the ground. There were a few teeth marks where I had bitten into the skin of my arm, a few trickles of blood fell down the sides of it.

I sighed again and then turned my head in the direction of my bookkeeper. She was running over to me, her golden hair swaying side to side behind her as she ran. When the woman reached me she fell down to her knees and took one good look at me and then my arm, right before crying out something completely incoherent and reaching forward, grasping my shoulders with her arms as quickly as she could.

"BRAGO!" screamed Sherry as she jumped forward, dropped her book, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. As she clomped onto me she knocked us both to the ground, me on my back with her on top of me, though I did manage to support myself just a little with my right arm, the one that _wasn't_ separated from my shoulder (this was rather uncomfortable and hard to do with Sherry over me but I managed).

I stared at the human as she began to cry. She buried her face in my chest and kept her arms wrapped around me tight, not giving any signs of letting go or loosening her grip. With a curious look I gazed down at the distressed woman who was pouring her emotions out all at once.

"Brago, I was so worried!" she wailed, "That fight right there, it was so hard, I thought we were going to lose, I thought I would lose you!" With this remark, she nuzzled her face into my shoulder, still sobbing. From the corner of my eye I could see her distraught expression: Her face had become slightly pink and the blood trickling down the side of her forehead added another effect to it, so did the scratches and marks from the previous battle. It made her look more...

Unhappy...

"Sherry, it's over now..." I said quietly. I didn't move my good arm so I wouldn't move my balance, but I managed to shift my position ever so slightly to give myself a better angle to look at her.

As soon as those words escaped my mouth the woman turned her tearstained face to look up at me, her eyes shimmering. "But Brago," she said, "You... Your arm... Look at it, it's completely gone!" With this comment she averted her gaze to my left shoulder. A sickened look overwhelmed her face and she turned away. "I think I'm going to be sick..."

"Well that's what happens when you don't pay attention during battle," I said lowly. A hurt expression took over her face and more tears trickled down her cheeks.

"But I didn't do anything!" she said, the pitch in her voice rising.

I said nothing. What could I say?

For a minute the two of us just stared at each other long and hard, tears still dripping down Sherry's cheek. Oddly enough, I had the strangest temptation to wipe them away (what the hell was this all about?). I fought my desire and came to the conclusion that, one, I was missing an arm so I couldn't use that one, and two, if I moved my other arm my support would be gone and I would fall over. That was out of the question.

"Sherry..." I said quietly and her eyes watered. Once more, she cried and buried her face into my chest once more, holding onto me tightly again. Never knew she could have such a tight grip...

"Brago, I..." she said between her weeping, "I... I... Th-thank you... Thank you for saving me!" she cried and then gripped onto me tighter. I gritted my teeth.

"No need to thank me, now could you loosen your grip?"

But she didn't listen. Instead, she completely ignored me and continued on with her blubbering. "I know we won, but this was a close match!" she said. "Do you think that we can really win the next one so easily?"

Again, I was silent. There really wasn't much I could say, but I gave it my all. This wasn't exactly my strong point in any conversation. "We will win. I know we will."

With an unhappy sigh she looked up to me and stood up. At least she got off of me... Still feeling morose, she bowed her head and stared at the ground. "I'm just concerned what the next fight will bring. This was... so very intense... And your arm... What are you going to do about it?"

"Put it back on."

"WHAT?" Sherry stared, bewildered, at my previous words. "Now what the hell are you talking about? You can't just put an arm back on-- it's disjoined for crying out loud! Stop lying to me, Brago!" Her voice was full of anger.

I glared at her and she quickly shut up. "I _don't_ _lie_, Sherry," I hissed and stood up, Sherry winced at my words and a sudden surge of guilt overwhelmed me. Why was I feeling this way? It was only the truth, I didn't lie.

"R-right... Sorry," Again, she bowed her head and then glanced over to my arm on the ground and then quickly turned away. I looked down at it and came to the conclusion that I really needed something to help me actually _get it_ back on. Looking around the area I saw nothing.

"Is there anything I can support my arm with?" I inquired, now turning to look upon Sherry. Her expression enlightened and she smiled sheepishly before opening up one of the pockets she had on her large, white belt, rummaging for something. Curiously I stared and watched as she finally pulled out some white bandages.

"I have these," she stated, holding out the long, thin strips of material. "I decided to bring some just in case, lucky I brought them, huh?"

I said nothing but smirked rather. Yes, it was a good thing. I couldn't be more... What could be the word...? Almost _glad_ that she was my bookkeeper? Mentally I sighed. Sherry, Sherry... What was I going to do?

"How do you want to put this on?" the blonde inquired, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at her and shrugged.

"I don't care, as long as it supports my arm." Sherry nodded in an understanding way and then confirmed that she knew what she could do. I pulled my shirt and cloak off of my shoulders and tossed them onto the ground so I could get the bandages on.

Sherry moved up closer to me, the bandage in her arms, and began to wrap the white material around my shoulder and then around my chest for support. While doing so I could see she had a large blush spread across her face, and when there was eye contact between us she flushed an even deeper shade of red. What was her problem?

So we managed to get my arm through the loophole Sherry made with the bandages for it to go through and wrapped more bandages around it to for support. I grumbled slightly when she touched my damaged shoulder. Although I wouldn't admit it out loud (especially not to her), it _did_ hurt some, but it wasn't too bad. All I did in response to the small tinge of pain was lightly grit my teeth.

Soon the woman finished up the work and stood back, making sure she didn't miss any place that needed to be fixed up. She stared at me oddly and went back through the small first aid kit she had with her.

"You've got scratches all over you," she said, taking a cloth and wiping away some blood on my face. For some reason I didn't stop her from cleaning up the wound I had on my forehead where the blood was trickling down. I just... didn't find any need to.

"I know," I said idly. "They'll heal, so there's no need for any more bandages."

She nodded her head and a saddened expression overtook her face again. "I'm sorry for being such a burden..." she whispered under her breath. I didn't give any notations that I had heard her.

_You're no burden, Sherry..._

I sighed and stared up to the sky. It was probably getting later in the day, the sun was already coming close to the horizon and I could tell that Sherry was exhausted. With a nod of my head I stood up and so did my bookkeeper, picking up my book as well. At least I knew that she would take care of it. The two of us began to head back to the hotel that we stayed in so she could get some rest.

But the entire trip back I knew that _something_ was still bothering her... I couldn't tell what, but I would soon find out.

* * *

_What did y'all think 'bout Patie? (I think it's ridiculous that they renamed her Penny... Then there's her bookkeeper, Ululu, who they renamed Uli or however you pronounce it. -.-)_

_Yeah... now that that's over with, i have a lil' something special in store and plannedfor the next chapter. n.n Muwahaha... Well, read n' review!_


	14. An Uncomfortable Situation

_Whoohoo! I am tracked out, that means no more school for about 4 more weeks! (does a dance) o.o Wait.. this is my last one because there are no year round high schools... (cries) I like my track outs... Anywho, as for my happy mood, i'm lettin' y'all see this here chappy!_

_I hope this chapter is satisfying for those that wanted a lil' something more to happen (even if it's nothing TOO big). n.n' I'll have more fun writing the next chappy though...Heheh.._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Konjiki no Gash Bell but i do own the idea to make Sherry act all weird, heehee!_

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Erased

**Chapter 14**

**An Uncomfortable Situation**

At first I didn't realize it, but as time went by I began to feel rather lightheaded. Perhaps it was from the loss of blood during that fight... There was a small tinge of pain not only from where my damaged arm was, but through my head as well. This _had_ to be caused by a loss of blood, what else could it be?

On the way back to the hotel, Sherry had become hungry once more so we stopped so she could grab something to eat. I watched as she munched on a sandwich silently back to the hotel. Something was definitely bothering her... but I didn't bother to muse what it could be, my head hurt too much, damn it…

A few others watched with wide eyes as we passed through the streets, probably curious as to why both Sherry and I were so badly hurt. But as usual I ignored them--they were a waste of my time, so why should I care? Nobody stopped to ask anyway.

After a longer while we both finally reached the hotel room and I was surprised to see that, when I glanced to a clock, it was a little past seven. Were we really gone that long? Time must have gone by father than I assumed during the fight with Furigaro...

While Sherry was pulling out the keys to the door to our room, I looked down at my left arm and noticed that there was a small dab of red blood visible. My wound probably wouldn't heal until at least a week or so... Maybe less, I was a little unsure. After all, I had never attained this serious of an injury before in my entire life. Well, there was a first time for everything, as they say.

After a moment Sherry finally unlocked the door and the two of us walked into the room. I still felt rather dizzy so I headed to the couch on the other end of the room and sat down, rubbing my eyes slightly with my right hand. Damn... I think I was getting a headache, something I rarely got.

Immediately after I sat down, Sherry plopped next to me on the left side of the couch as well. Azure eyes wide, she stared at me with an illegible look, I could see this through the corner of my eye. Even though I couldn't read what she was thinking, she still had that unhappy, tearstained expression on her face from earlier; I had noticed that she was acting somewhat morose once again while we headed back to the hotel. Clearly she had been musing over _something_ while we were out... I just didn't know what, she never told me.

"Braggadocio?" I glared when she called me by that ridiculous nickname again, but that only increased my headache. Glancing down at the ground and then back to me, she asked, "Are you alright?"

I gave my best attempt to nod my head but that didn't work out, so I spoke instead, "I'm fine." The unreadable look remained on her face.

"You don't look fine to me," she said and I could feel her tenderly wrap her hand around my shoulders, careful of my injured arm. Again, oddly enough, I didn't find a need to push her off...

"I am," I reassured.

"Demo..." She was hesitant to say something, I knew she was; I was absolutely sure of it. But what was it she wanted to say? For a while the two of us just sat there on the couch, silently. I had stopped rubbing my eyes and had leaned my back against the cushioned couch with my eyes closed. I was trying to relax, but the throbbing pain in my head wouldn't go away. Mentally I growled. Stupid pain... stupid headache...

When I reopened my eyes about a minute later, I looked down at Sherry and was not too surprised to see that she was silently crying, though an odd sensation swam through my body seeing her upset like this. Tears were slowly, but surely, trickling down her cheeks. She was looking somewhere to the side, staring at nothing in particular, off in her own thoughts in her own little world.

Like before, I didn't know what came over me, but I lightly grasped her hand, the one that was still around my shoulder.

Startled, the ningen spun around quickly, her eyes wide, a blush on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked quietly, a little unsure of why I was asking her this.

She blinked, obviously not knowing what to say at my sudden question, so I asked her the same thing over again. Slightly flushing, she bowed her head and stared at the ground with a saddened expression, her voice timid like, just as a child's would be. Another mood swing...?

"I... I'm sorry, Brago," Sherry said quietly, eyes still not moving from the ground. She didn't bother to look back up at me when she continued. "I'm such a burden to you in these fights... You were seriously hurt today, Brago." It was right then that she glanced to my damaged arm before she looked away again, tears forming once more in the corners of her eyes. The woman sniffed and wiped away a few tears as they fell down her face.

I shrugged lightly as I fought that same damn temptation to wipe away her tears...What was wrong with me today? "Things like this happen," I said, "There's nothing you can do about it."

"It was my entire fault!" cried Sherry as she closed her eyes, shaking her head back in forth, gently nuzzling her face in my arm. "If it weren't for me, this would have never happened, and you would have never been so badly hurt in the first place!"

"Sherry..." I said softly. She looked back up at me with her watery cerulean eyes and I continued, still a little unsure of what I was saying or why I was, "It's not your fault... Alright?"

Looking down, Sherry sighed unhappily before she glanced back to where our hands were. I looked too and it finally dawned on me that I was still holding her hand. Why, I had no idea, but I quickly let go.

Sherry seemed to be a little saddened by this action and she rested her now free hand in her lap and sighed, removing her arms from my shoulders. "It's still my fault," she said, voice shaking. I shook my head in disagreement.

"No, Sherry... Now shut up about it, will you?" The woman looked up at me inquiringly and I turned away. I cursed myself for acting like this. Why the hell was I doing what I was? I had not ever done so before, so why start now?

"Brago..." She said my name softly, completely _coaxing_ me to look back at her. I tried to resist the urge to do so, but as fate would have it, I turned to look at her and she immediately grabbed me around the shoulders yet again in a tight embrace, forcing me to face her directly. "Brago, I'm so sorry! So terribly sorry!" she wailed, burrowing her face in my shirt as she began to cry. "I hate these fights, they're so difficult. I don't want to lose you!"

I had no earthly idea what to do just then. What could I do?

"Maybe you just need some rest," I suggested quietly as I stood up; she rose with me, not having much of a choice but to do so as well. "Come on, let's go in here..."

With this remark I slowly lead the distressed woman to her room. Warily, she let go of me as we entered her own space and stared up at me with those vibrant blue eyes.

"Now get dressed, you need to sleep," I said, "I'll be outside." After saying what I did, I walked out of her room and shut the door behind me in the process, and then I headed over to my corner by the wall and leaned my back against it as I sighed.

I really didn't know what just came over me a second ago... It was so unlike me, why was I changing? Why was I suddenly feeling this way towards Sherry? She was only supposed to be a mere alliance in this war, nothing else, nothing more. Humans were tools necessary to become king, and yet here I found myself acting strange around one, feeling emotions, something I shouldn't ever have!

Mentally, I kicked myself. Dammit, this was not my day...

After a minute the woman finally emerged out of her room dressed in a thin nightdress. I stared at her as she walked over to me, a large blush clearly seen on her face. At this I began to wonder what she was thinking about this time. Evidently she had been thinking about something while she was in her room. So what was it? Come on, out with it, Sherry...

Still blushing and now standing next to me, the blonde gazed at me oddly and mumbled something incoherent before she latched herself onto me once more. I gazed with a puzzled expression. What was _with_ her today?

Staring down, I watched as she slowly began to cry once more. Nothing I could really say, but I soon found my voice once more and began to speak to her, "You should go to sleep, you're tired." And at this remark I led the woman back to her room and she followed, but she still wouldn't let go however, as I soon found out when I reached her bedside. Sherry wouldn't remove her arms from my shoulders and I tried to pry her off.

Again, she mumbled something I couldn't understand and her blushed deepened. I growled.

"Sherry, speak up or go to sleep!" I said, trying to remove her arms from me. It was rather hard to do so if I wanted my left arm to heal quickly. Was she purposely trying to make me strain my arm even further and prevent us from fighting? Plus there was the fact that she had an amazingly tight grip for a human...

"But Brago... don't want to... not alone..." she murmured. Finally, some words I _could_ understand! But as she said that I did a double take and stared at her bemusedly.

"Sherry..." I said. She blushed even deeper as her eyes widened and turned away, though she didn't bother to loosen her grip in the slightest around my shoulders. I began to feel even more agitated by the minute. "Go to sleep!"

"Don't want to... not alone..." she repeated, now with her eyes closed tightly together, shaking her head.

At this, I stared. Did she just ask me to...?

"Sherry?" I said her name again and she turned to look up at me nervously. I stared at her silently for another moment before she broke the eye contact. Apparently she was summoning a lot of courage to ask me to do something like that... Yet... I didn't know what to do. Part of me told me to say no and to just let her sleep by herself like normal, yet... The other side of me had this strange yet strong desire to listen to her.

I didn't like that side... unfortunately that was the side of me that was winning the mental argument. Again, I cursed myself for this.

"Brago, please don't leave me..." Sherry said weakly, finally returning her gaze to meet my own. I stared for a minute or two, debating what my next actions should be. I was still fighting off the side of me that told me to stay with her, the side of me that held the desire...

I looked down and realized that I had grabbed her arms with my hands. When did I do that? I didn't recall doing such a thing... Sherry was staring at me yet again with those pleading, anxious eyes; her face was as red as an apple.

With a low sigh, I slowly released her hands from my grasp and closed my eyes and painfully said, "Fine... I'll sleep here too, but only for one night." I opened my eyes quickly and shot a glare towards the blonde. "But don't pull any tricks on me, got it? Do something I don't like and I'm getting up."

After hearing my final answer I could tell that Sherry was immensely happy. I sure didn't feel glad about this, but at least that same damn side of me stopped being so obnoxious as soon as I accepted Sherry's request. But if she did one thing, one thing at all that I didn't like, I would remove myself from her presence. I didn't like this idea. Not in the least bit, but for some reason I was going with it.

Something was seriously wrong with me...

Sherry watched me as I removed my cape and belt before I climbed into the bed, throwing off my excess clothes onto the floor along with my black shirt. After a moment of musing to herself, Sherry soon climbed into the bed as well, slipping under the covers. I immediately turned away from her, leaning on my right shoulder so not to harm my left any further.

I could tell she was directly facing me because I could soon feel her hot breath beating against my bare back. Looking behind me I reminded her, "Don't you pull any tricks on me, understand?"

She mumbled a 'yes' and soon closed her eyes. I turned away to face in front of me once more and began to contemplate on _why the hell_ I was doing this. However, I didn't want to think on it too much unless I wanted to increase my headache, which, unfortunately, was still there.

I stared in the dark room and sighed. Here lately I had been doing so many strange things around Sherry ever since she had lost her memories and personality. It was as if she was somehow making me less strict now that she was acting like that as well. Before, she could almost be as merciless as I at times, but that was usually when it came to fighting. When we weren't competing against another demon, she was actually a lot calmer.

_And more attractive..._

I blinked and hissed under my breath, "Damn it."

Blast it, I had done it again! I gritted my teeth and gripped the covers over the bed.

Why was I softening up to a human? I didn't deserve this; the only thing I deserved was the throne! Why was this happening to me? What was Sherry doing to make me so different? Did she _enjoy_ torturing me like this?

What was she doing to me...?

Well, whatever the cause, I should probably get some sleep. If I was going to deal with her in the morning then I should probably gain as much rest as possible. With a last glare over my shoulder I closed my eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

This wasn't exactly how I wished to spend my night…

* * *

_Buwaha, cliffy! XD_

_The end of the world is near! Brago sings! O.O Meep!_

_Brago: SHUT UP ABOUT IT ALREADY!_

_He sings! He sings! He sings!_

_Brago: (grits teeth)_

_Not only a solo,there's alsoa duet! For those that already don't know, the song "Hij_ô_ no Victory (Merciless Victory)" is his solo, and the song "Kuroi Sakebi (Black Scream)" is the duet with Sherry!_

_Brago: (now grinding teeth) Twilight..._

_What? You're actually not that bad... Muwahaha!_

_Brago: (growling) Gimme the CD or else..._

_And now this is my cue to run for my life. Bye, people! Remember to review! I like reviews very much! n.n_

_Happy belated Easter!_


	15. Dreaming of that Fateful Day

_Gah! I've had such a boring day, and now i wanna post this chapter up and see what you peeps think of it. Err... i suppose that you could consider this a fluffy chapter. n.n' Even though not TOO much really happens... Hey! I'm just trying to make Brago as IC as possible, thank you very much! So this's going pretty slow, as some of you have most undoubtedly noticed. XD_

_Yeah... read on, people, you know you want to! >.>_

_Disclaimer: Idon't own this, you won't sue.Now with that fact what will you do?_

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**Chapter 15**

**Dreaming of that Fateful Day**

I glared when I felt something moist and warm grasp my shoulders. I slightly turned my head to the side only to see that Sherry had laid her hands against me and was breathing quietly and steadily, her expression somewhat neutral, her golden bangs slightly shielding her closed eyes. At this, my face softened. She looked so peaceful...

Damn it, I'm being sentimental again. What was with the emotions lately?

For what reason, or reasons, I was feeling these emotions I had no idea. Perhaps it was just something about her that had been forcing me to think differently. As a matter of fact, I even remembered somewhat caring for the woman before this whole ordeal started, though we were never anywhere _near_ coming close to a situation such as this--to the extent of feelings I was having now, I had never felt them before, I had never planned to either. Yet here I was, experiencing them day in and out.

Turning back to face in front of me again, I sighed and closed my eyes as a sudden tinge of pain shot through the back of my head and I lightly growled. Stupid headache, stupid thinking making it worse...

Stupid emotions!

Ever since I let myself lay down on the bed next to Sherry, that unusual tugging sensation inside my chest started up once more and it had been driving me completely insane. I had tried to think of other things to muse over, but the pull kept returning--it wouldn't go away. This only aggravated me even further. I hated the feeling, _despised_ it!

With a sigh, I closed my eyes. Maybe relaxing would help a little... That would maybe do me _some_ good, though I still wished that I could be off by myself again like usual. Why did Sherry have to insist me to sleep with her? I found it rather odd that a human would do such a thing, not that it really mattered much. In a way it did, but still... it was rather uncanny if you asked me.

So for a while I just laid on the bed, forcing myself to slowly drift off to actual sleep. But as I felt myself begin to relax, something... _odd_ happened. I felt more warmth than before press against my back and it then dawned on me that Sherry had rested her forehead against me. How long did it take her to fall asleep, I wondered. Probably not long...

For a while I just laid there on the bed in complete silence. As the minutes rolled by I became more and more annoyed and clenched my fists. I could feel Sherry beginning to slowly inch up closer to me in her sleep, now she had literally pressed her entire body up against mine. This was getting very aggravating very quickly...

And before I knew it, it felt as though her face was pressed right up against mine, somewhat lying on it you could say, or at least my neck. Her hot breath tickled my face and I tightly squeezed my eyes shut. Dammit, this was not a situation I wished to be in! It was then I regretted lying down with her, I should never have done so. Why did I again? _Because she asked you to, baka!_

That was it, I had had it. I didn't like what she was doing! So what if she wasn't conscious of it. What mattered was that I was getting annoyed and wanted to move, so I did. But with Sherry being so close to me, almost on top of me, she weighed me down and I couldn't get up. Again, I glared through the corner of my eye and I could see her face next to mine, it was that close.

I hissed a curse under my breath and turned my attention in front of me again. For a moment I just laid there on the bed in silence, musing over what could or would happen next. Luckily Sherry didn't move much anymore for a while afterwards, that was good, it didn't bother me as much so I stayed where I was and slowly began to relax again. Didn't really understand that.

Even though it irritated the hell out of me, to have Sherry's body pressed against mine like she had it... I suppose it wasn't so bad. Great, I was doing it again...

"Brago..." I blinked when I heard the woman call out my name; I tried to turn my neck around but I couldn't, her head was pressed against mine and I couldn't budge. Damn it, Sherry, move!

"Sherry, wake up," I hissed lowly, but the woman didn't hear me, or at least didn't show any signs of it. Instead, she merely grasped my bare shoulder a little bit tighter and I could barely see her eyes squeeze together firmly, her brows furrowing into a frown. She burrowed her face into my shoulder in her sleep, somewhat resting her lips against my bare skin, causing goose bumps to rise on my flesh and I could feel a dab of sweat trickle down the side of my face. Why was I feeling so nervous? I didn't know why, but I was.

"Brago... help me..." Sherry mumbled my name again in her sleep and I glared, rather unhappy, more so annoyed, that I couldn't move. I almost wanted to know what she was dreaming of. Almost. By now I would have forced her to wake up by yelling at her in most situations, but for some odd reason I couldn't let myself do that to her at the present moment. I wanted her to continue resting, why, I had no idea, but that was just how I felt.

Taking my right arm, the one that I was laying on, I slid it out from underneath my body and managed to seize Sherry's hand with my own when I reached up for it. Suddenly the woman jolted her sleep and she woke up with a start. It took a moment for her to realize what our position was, and even through the dark I could see a blush scatter brightly across her face. I couldn't help but feel slightly warm myself, but the feeling passed when she quickly removed herself from me. I rolled over onto my back as I twisted my neck around to face at the woman and stared at her as she scooted away just a little, the blush still lingering.

"I... I'm terribly sorry," Sherry murmured, glancing away for a good second before returning her shy gaze. "I didn't mean to... to do that..."

"Hn," I gazed at the woman oddly and in response she blushed even deeper when our eyes locked together. She quickly averted her attention to something else and we both sat, more so layed, there on the bed for a longer period of time before Sherry decided to speak up again.

"Brago... I had a dream..." she said rather quietly, biting her lip a little. "I dreamt that... that I was in this town that was on fire. There was a girl there too who looked about my age, whatever that is. I can't really remember her name either, and then next to her was a demon, except this time it was different from a normal team... The other had possessed the girl. I... I didn't know what to do, but it felt as though this girl was really close to me, yet I couldn't place my finger on it." As she said this, Sherry returned her gaze to my own and my eyes widened. "Later on in the dream she was about to kill me... but then you showed up and saved me..."

I sat up in the bed and stared at the blonde for a good long moment. Did this just happen? Did she just say that? "You dreamt that?"

She nodded her head, her eyes averted to the blanketed mattress beneath us. "Yes... is that a bad thing, Brago?"

"No..."

"Then what is it? Does it mean I get to set a town on fire?"

"_No_," I said rather irritably after her ridiculous remark and I glared at the woman. She blushed again, turning her gaze away from mine once more before I spoke. "It means you just regained another piece of your memory..."

Azure eyes gleaming, Sherry's mouth suddenly went agape as she did a double take, slightly shaking her head, immediately turning to look back at me after I made my declaration. We both stared at each other for a good long moment before she asked, "Hontou?"

I nodded my head. "Yes."

Sherry seemed rather surprised about this, but I had to admit, I was too. Another small piece of her fragmented memory had finally been regained! I wondered when the next would be uncovered and how long it would be until then and what would be happening when it was. As the woman beamed brightly at me I couldn't help but smirk, she was returning to her old self at last...

"Brago," she breathed, her lip trembling slightly. "If... if that really happened... could you please tell me who that girl was, and that demon? I have to know, please, please!"

Hmm, it wouldn't hurt if I did tell her, would it? But as I recalled, Sherry was quite distraught over her friend's manipulation by Zophise, I was a little unsure if I actually _wanted_ to tell her. She was already depressed enough as it was--there was no need to increase the morose mood about her.

"Hello?" Sherry waved her hand in front of my face and I snapped out of my thoughts with a glare, batting her hand away. The woman put on an offended look yet said nothing, but the look quickly vanished when I said that I would tell her and she smiled once again.

I sighed, "Alright... I'll tell you what I know."

So I told her what I knew about Koko being manipulated by the demon known as Zophise and how I saved her when she was about to be killed and also when I threw my book down at her feet, commanding her to read it. I didn't bother to tell her about her threatening to kill herself again when I tried to control her as well, there was no need to. Now I saw that there was also no need to rule over her, she could fair off on her own quite fine, although she wouldn't have been as strong as I would have liked her to be.

And all the while I told her about her forgotten memory, Sherry watched with pure interest, her eyes wide, taking in every word I spoke and how I said it. On a few occasions she would nod her head slightly as I talked, reminding her of her past. When I finished, she stared at the bed once again for a minute before she piped up, her voice full of curiosity.

"How... how could you tell that I was the one who could read your book?" she inquired, somewhat tilting her head to the side.

"I just did," was all I said and Sherry mused over that as well, biting her lip some. She leaned on her right arm and yawned while I glanced over to the clock that was beside the bed and saw that it read 1:09AM. "You should get back to sleep," I said quietly as I turned my head back around to face the woman. "It's late. You'll need your rest..."

It almost felt as if I had completely forgotten about Sherry's previous actions from before, when she had pressed herself against me. Now... now I didn't know what to think of it. Sure, it annoyed me, yet at the same time it didn't. Damn, I really couldn't make up my mind on things these days, could I?

Smiling weakly, the ningen nodded her head as she yawned once more. "Alright, Brago..."

So with that I laid back down, deciding to give Sherry another chance for the night. At the time being she was happy, and I didn't want to disturb her human emotions. Even if I didn't particularly like to deal with them, I didn't want to cause her unhappiness, oddly enough. This was indeed very... odd... but I rested my back against the mattress anyway. This time I didn't turn away. Staring at me for a moment with an illegible expression, Sherry soon smiled again and laid herself back down as well, immediately curling up next to me. I didn't push her away, but I didn't hold her either, there was no need to.

"Thank you, Brago," whispered the blonde quietly as she shut her eyes, slowly drifting off to sleep. For a moment I just stared at her, observing how calm she was once again. I involuntarily smirked before I realized what I was doing and quickly wiped away the smile. There was no need for emotions here, either, I told myself.

But as I laid back down, a sudden sense of comfort overwhelmed me, filling the identical unknown empty feeling that had been haunting me for quite sometime now, my headache even started to die down. I didn't know why this was happening, but soon afterwards, tiredness besieged me as well and it didn't really bother me as much when Sherry lightly grasped my left arm, the damaged one, while she slept.

And as I closed my eyes, I slowly began to fall asleep, a small smile lingering on my face, too tired to remove it.


	16. Something Interesting

_Ugh... i'm sick... and i feel like crap... And now i wanna update this story... Hope the chapter's alright, i really wasn't in the mood to do too many edits, but i really wanted to post this chap. Hn. Hope y'all enjoy it!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own... if i did, would this be called fanfiction?_

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**Erased**

**Chapter 16**

**Something Interesting**

When I woke up in the morning, I immediately knew that something was out of place. Of course, I couldn't figure it out right away, as I had just woken up, but as the fuzz left my vision my eyes widened in shock.

Sherry was still curled up next to me while I was on my back, just as it had been when I had previously fallen asleep, but instead of keeping her hands to herself, Sherry had draped her left arm across my chest as she silently slept. My right hand was gently clutching onto hers while my own left arm was lying across the pillow that the woman was _supposed_ to be using. I had _not_ intended to be her pillow! Her head was leaning against my shoulder and, surprisingly, my head was twisted around to face Sherry, the tip of her hair tickled my chin.

I quickly moved my head away from the position it was in and stared.

Well, this was... _odd_.

Once more, the same tugging feeling rose inside my chest and I closed my eyes in agitation. Now was not the time to go through irritating sensations, I wanted up. So, with that, I carefully picked up my bookkeeper's hand and removed her arm from myself and gently pushed her away from me. Without making any noise, she took her hand back and continued sleeping.

After throwing the covers off, I quietly removed myself from the bed. As I sat up the mattress creaked just slightly and I froze, staring down at Sherry as she yawned and slowly stirred in her sleep, yawning while doing so. I didn't know why I just stood there, watching her, but I did as she slowly started to wake from her slumber.

Gently rubbing her eyes, Sherry yawned again and then looked up at me, a small smile forming on her face as well as a blush. "M-morning, Brago," she said quietly, averting her gaze from mine for a second. I said nothing but just stared down at her with a blank look as she shifted her position on the bed, supporting herself with her arms as she turned around, her feet now dangling off the edge of the bed. "Is... is your arm feeling any better?" inquired Sherry after a moment's pause. I glanced at my shoulder before I shrugged.

"I suppose so."

The smile upon her face lingered. "That's good," she said. Again, we were silent. I merely stood by her bedside as I watched the woman continue to sit on the mattress, staring at the ground.

I wondered if she knew about the awkward position we had been in while we slept. Most likely she knew, but I assumed she would rather stay silent, obviously feeling uncomfortable about the situation. I had to admit it too, but I didn't want to talk about it, either.

"Brago?"

After calling my name, I turned to look down at the woman as she stared at me with those vibrant azure eyes. There was no way I could avert my gaze from hers, so I stared back and muttered, "What?"

She was slightly hesitant, but then mumbled, "Th-thank you for... for staying with me last night..." My moment of staring at her ended as I quickly turned away, finally avoiding her gazes. Once more, silence filled the room, only adding to the insecurity of this uncomfortable situation.

When I turned back around to look at Sherry one last time, I realized that she had stood up and was standing right next to me. Damn, I didn't even notice her do that. We both stared at another for a good long moment before Sherry inched up to me, wrapping her arms around me in a light embrace. I stared down at her with an illegible look. Why did she take a sudden interest in touching me all of a sudden? I suppose my 'no more hugs' rule would have to be abandoned. I mentally sighed.

"Brago... I'm so sorry," said the woman quietly, nuzzling her head into my right shoulder. "I should have moved when that giant spell came for me... Yet you pushed me out of the way and took the hit yourself. And now... now your arm is hurt because of me..."

Great, another damn tirade... Didn't she have one just like this yesterday? "Don't worry," I said, "I've told you not to apologize. So shut up already, will you?"

With a slight blush, Sherry moved herself a little so she could look at me in the eye. She turned her attention to something else right afterwards, not bothering to release her grip around me as she sighed, resting her head against my shoulder again. I stood there in the middle of the room, staring at her oddly as I mused to myself about what was going to happen next now that some of her memory had been regained. Speaking of which...

"Brago..."

Her timid voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked down at her into her two blue eyes that were staring back at me. Sherry released the embrace and took a step back, though she still kept the eye contact. When the woman let go of me, I immediately felt that something was missing... I ignored that thought.

"What?"

"Um..." For a moment, she paused, most likely contemplating on how she was going to word whatever it was she wished to say next, and then spoke: "Since we... since we uh... well... What I mean is, since we fought somebody else already, can we please go out and do something fun?"

I stared. "Nani...?"

"Umm..." Apparently she was uncomfortable with this and having difficulty. I waited for another moment, watching her as she fiddled her thumbs around before she asked again, "Can we... go out for a walk?"

"A walk?" I echoed and she nodded.

"Hai... I just wanted to go walk somewhere, that's all..." Sherry flushed with embarrassment as she said that, quickly turning her gaze to the edge of the unmade bed before she averted it to my shirt and belt, which were tossed to the side on the floor. It was then I realized that I hadn't put my shirt back on, so I walked over to where my clothing was and threw it back on around my shoulders, Sherry stared at me while I did so.

After I turned back around with my shirt back on, I began to put on my belt and asked, "Well, where do you want to walk?" It was hard to believe I was asking her this... But I suppose it couldn't be too bad if she just wanted to go on a walk, could it?

"I was thinking about the beach..."

"There's a beach?" I asked, now wondering where I put my shoes. I discovered they were thrown over by the doorway. As I began to put those on as well, Sherry spoke again as she nodded her head.

"Yes... It's about ten minutes away from here..." She gazed at me for a long moment, clearly lost in her own thoughts. We were silent again for about a minute as I thought about her request. A walk on the beach shouldn't be too bad, should it? If I denied it, she'd probably start crying again... I wasn't in the mood to deal with anymore of her laments, so I nodded my head.

"Hn, fine."

Sherry squealed in delight as she jumped up, grabbing onto my left arm. An unusual sensation jolted through my nerves and I gritted my teeth. Wounds like this didn't heal overnight...

Noticing my expression, Sherry loosened her grip but still held onto me otherwise. There was a large smile adorned on her face and she beamed up at me. "Thank you, Brago!" she said happily. Soon she let go of my arm and twirled around with a giggle, I watched as she faced me once more, silent, but smiling.

I nodded my head before I turned around, telling her to get ready. So we would head to the beach...

-o-o-o-o-o-

To think that I would ever so something like this was absurd, but I was doing it. As I looked up I squinted my eyes, the Sun's light was bright and it radiated over the entire area. The sky was a bright blue and hardly any clouds were seen in the sky. The sound of seagulls reached my ears and then laughter, I turned my head around to see that Sherry was quite enjoying herself.

She was twirling around on the sand, laughing, a bright smile seen on her face. Turning to look at me, she grinned even bigger. "Come on, Brago!" she said with a laugh, now running over to me, climbing up the wooden steps to the wooden ledge that I was standing on. "Let's go over here!"

With that outburst, she tugged on my right arm this time, pulling me with her. I had no choice but to follow and she led me to the wooden stairs that led to the sandy beach. When I stepped foot in the sand I sunk just a little, it now became slightly harder to walk but the difference was hardly noticeable. I watched as the woman looked up at me.

"Come on, Brago, take your shoes off, it's more fun that way!" she instructed as she pulled her own white boots off. I stared.

"Must I?"

"_Please_?"

"Fine..."

I grumbled and did what Sherry asked me to do. I didn't like being bossed around, but chances are if I said no to the blonde's request she would cry, and I didn't want that. If it meant to take my shoes off to prevent her from doing so, I was willing to do so.

So I took them off; when I stepped foot into the sand once more a warm tingling sensation jolted up my feet. The sand was hot. Sherry giggled as she set her boots to the side, watching me with pure interest.

"I think it feels better this way," she said. "I love the feeling of sand beneath your feet!"

I said nothing but shrugged, throwing my own shoes to the side next to Sherry's as well. When I turned back around, Sherry was viewing the surroundings around her and I looked around too. There weren't really any others on the beach... In fact, I couldn't see anyone at all except for us and a few other dots out in the distance; those of which I could sense were, in fact, humans.

"Hey, Brago, let's go this way," suggested Sherry as she pointed off to the left. I said nothing but shrugged again as the woman led the way, I folded my arms behind my back and watched her from behind as she started to skip. If she wanted to make a fool out of herself then fine, but that was one thing I was _not_ willing to do.

For a while we just walked along the seashore; even if it was morning, it was still fairly warm. But what was to be expected. I had only been to a beach in the human world once, not that I had gone to where the water was, no, Sherry and I had merely been passing through the town with a beach to the side, I remembered Sherry wearing a dress with no long sleeves, as Sherry was wearing none now. Her dress was still pink however...

From what I could tell, Sherry was very happy. I suppose it was another mood swing; so she went from shy and timid to an outburst of happiness. I mentally shook my head. It was strange.

At least she had my book with me, that was what I mostly cared about at the present moment, or as usual, I should say. It was tucked in that large white belt she would wear a lot around her waist. So if we encountered any other teams (which was highly unlikely, I couldn't sense any nearby, but I had been wrong before. The teams were stronger at this point so it was harder to decipher where they were) the book would be nearby.

Sherry would sometimes wander over to where the water was and walk in the wet sand, maybe even go to where it was warmer and twirl around again, but eventually she got bored of that and slowed down her pace to walk next to me in silence. Not that this bothered me, I had become somewhat used to this by now. I preferred silence to loud noise anyway.

So we continued walking without any conversations. However quiet Sherry was, though, I could still tell she was very happy, for that smile still lingered on her face. Eventually she turned to look up at me and smiled.

"Thank you, Brago," said the woman, "for taking me here."

"Hn." I said nothing else afterwards. Sherry still smiled and turned to look in front of her again and we went on walking, though we would probably have to turn back soon to retrieve our shoes.

But before I could even mention turning back, something caught my eye and I stopped walking, Sherry halted as well and turned to look at me with a curious look.

"What is it?" she asked, now going up to where I stood. I stared in a different direction, near where the water lay. Something was poking out of the sand... something stone... "Brago?"

"Something is over there," I said, now heading to the foreign object that had caught my attention. Sherry didn't follow.

"Where?"

"Here," I spoke as I picked up the slab of stone. It was heavy, but that didn't matter, I held it up for Sherry to see with ease as I wiped away some of the sand that was still on top of the stone.

Walking up to where I was, the woman stared at what I held in my hands. "W-what is it?" she inquired, looking up at me, clearly requesting an answer.

"I don't know... But it looks familiar..." Turning the stone slab over in my hands, I noticed on the front of it that there were strange carvings adorned in the stone, along with an oddly shaped creature that reminded me very well of a demon...

"It does?" Sherry stared at the rock harder, even supporting her chin with her hand as she placed her elbow in her other palm. "Well, _I've_ certainly never seen this thing before... Ooh, pretty carvings!" I glared when she said that as she pointed at the markings on the front, but I said nothing; the new discovery I made was too intriguing...

"This is very interesting..." I said quietly, staring at the front of the slab. It was definitely a picture of a demon, and the words beneath it looked a lot like the demon script I was familiar with. I smirked before I threw the thing back into the water and it created a large splash, sending water everywhere, I watched as it sunk to the bottom. "Finally something interesting happens."

Sherry stared at me with a pondering look, obviously wondering what I was talking about. "Brago..." she mumbled and I turned my attention to look at her, she had lost her happy mood and was now staring at the ground with an illegible expression. When she turned to look back up at me, she mumbled, "Does... does this mean that something bad will happen?"

I stared back at her and gave her my honest answer. "I don't know. But obviously it's related to the Makai. Perhaps something new will come up." If this meant that it was a challenging battle, then it was certainly exciting. I hadn't had one that I enjoyed in a good while; Sherry was taking away all the challenge to it because of the predicament she was in. I wanted to face those at _my_ level of combat, not a bunch of amateurs.

"Oh..." A saddened look overwhelmed her features and she turned away. "And just when I was enjoying things..." I don't think she knew I heard her as she mumbled.

"Come on," I said after a moment, turning back around to the direction we came from. "We need to head back, I want to get out of this place."

My patience had suddenly been driven short now because of the stone slab, no longer did I want to put up with Sherry's nonsense. The one thing I desired more than anything right now was to head back into the Battle for King. The war was moving on ahead and I was behind on everything, it was disappointing. I was parched for a good fight--I needed to quench my thirst. Anger rose inside me when I realized just how far behind we were.

"But Brago... W-wait!" I didn't bother listening to Sherry's pleas as she ran up to me and walked along next to me. "Why do we have to stop? I was enjoying this!" From the sound of her voice she was quite distressed. I didn't care. "Brago!"

"Don't be so selfish, woman, and hurry up," I muttered angrily as we continued on our way. "I'm unsure if you remember it or not, but you made a promise to make me king. That's a promise I intend you to keep, now get a move on, we're late." I walked faster as I began taking longer strides; Sherry struggled to keep up.

"L-late for what?" the blonde asked but I didn't respond, so she ran up in front of me and we both stopped since she was blocking my way. "Brago, I don't understand this!" she said, tears forming in her eyes. "You're not telling me... Please? You can't just do this to me! What are we late for?"

I stared blankly at her. "We're late for the battles that are taking place all around us, we're too far behind," As I said this, Sherry's puzzled look remained. "You saw that slab! Something's going on here, and I plan to find out what! We're going back to the routine we were on before you lost your memory!"

"And what would that be, huh?" Sherry spat back heatedly as she clenched her fists, her face reddened. "All this time you... I thought you really cared!" Tears poured down her cheek as she shook her head in protest, but she let them fall anyway. "All this time you took care of me... and for what? What did you expect in return, that I become your slave and do whatever the hell you want me to? TELL ME, BRAGO!"

Her breathing became unsteady for a moment and she took a few deep breaths and panted as she averted her gaze, closing her eyes, tears forming in the corners and dripping down the side of her cheeks. I frowned a little deeper and shook my head.

"It doesn't matter, Sherry," I began, "You're in a situation you can't back out of. You're going to help me whether you like it or not."

"Brago!" Sherry cried, now turning to look at me again, her eyes open. "Don't be such an asshole and try to feel emotion for once! Can't you think about anything else other than yourself? I don't _want_ to participate in these battles! I'll just end up failing, I'll end up getting you hurt like you were yesterday!"

As she said that, she pointed to my left arm, I chose to not turn and look. We were silent again; I could feel the anger still within me. Oh, how could she _not_ understand that this was my friggin' _purpose_ that I was here? Damn it, Sherry!

I watched as the woman started to cry again, she buried her face in her hands and turned away from me, shaking her head. "Why, why, why! _Why_ are you making this so hard for me, Brago? Tell me why! What did I ever do to deserve this?" the woman asked between sobs, I was silent. Even with my blood boiling in fury, I could feel the nerve-wracking urge to comfort her. I cursed myself before I looked around, it was probably sometime around midday...

Now redirecting my attention back to the distressed woman, I sighed. "We'll figure out what we're doing later then, alright?" She stopped crying so loudly and turned to look up at me, tears were still trickling down her face.

"W-wha...?"

I sighed heavily before I repeated myself. "We'll discuss this later then. Does that suit you better?"

For a moment, she was silent, most likely chewing over on her answer. I waited silently for her to respond, and when she finally did, there was an odd feeling within the air.

'"Fine... Just don't control me like you tried to do before..."

Sherry gave me an odd look before she turned around and began walking, heading to where our shoes were still lying around near the wooden stairs a little far off. Before I followed her, I had to stare at her in wonder: I had not been trying to control her right now. Was there something she knew about that she wasn't telling me? With a shrug, I walked briskly along in the sand too and headed back in complete silence.

Though I did have to wonder why I settled with the option to talk about this later with Sherry, perhaps it was because of...

I mentally shook my head. No, that wasn't it. I cared about nothing other than myself, which was final. But the desire to do _something_ always lingered within me when I was around her now, the sensation was driving me utterly insane... I just had to wonder what the hell was wrong with me.

Hopefully I could find out soon...

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_Yeah... just in case you didn't catch it, but this scene (at the beach with the slab) is supposed to be when Brago finds the stone slab like in episode 48. I just changed it around a lil' to fit the scene i wanted to do. XD_

_Hey... question... does anybody think this is angst? I'm just curious... i dunno if this story would be considered something else like drama or action/adventure instead of angst... Of course it's romance, but as for the other... Hm... i just dunno. Anybody wanna comment?_

_Meh... i'm signing off. It's about nine thirty at night and i still haven't had dinner... -.-_


	17. To Control

_Terribly sorry for the long update, everybody! It's just that for some very strange reason, FFnet hasn't been allowing me to upload Word documents... i kept trying for 4 days to update this story but it wouldn't let me upload anything, and i have all of my stories saved on Word. Sothen a friend recommended resaving it onto a different program like Notepad, so i tried that and what do you know, it worked. And the results: An updated chapter!_

_Yeah... But i'm rather confused about that bit... x.x Hope it'll start workin' soon, that way i don't have to resave everything on Notepad. >._

_And i'm almost out of school. WH00T! (yes, i'm in year round, and yes, i do actually enjoy it better than regular schools. I used to think otherwise in the past though)_

_Anywho, enjoy the chapter! I think there's gonna be about 30 chapters in this story, i've gone through and made notes for what i'm gonna do for each chapter; just lettin' y'all know! n.n_

_Disclaimer: Konjiki no Gash Bell is not mine so don't even get the impression that it is._

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**Chapter 17**

**To Control**

Only a couple of weeks had passed since the fight with Furigaro, my left arm had finally healed; it was a good feeling, really, now I didn't have to deal with that detached sensation on my shoulder anymore. And now that my left arm was connected again, I could at last move it around as freely as I pleased.

Soon after the discovery of the stone slab, Sherry and I decided to leave the town we were previously in and go to another in order to carry out our searches for other teams. The woman was still angry with me, as I quickly noticed. Thankfully she didn't cry much, but she became very irritated rather easily. The fact that she didn't talk to me greatly added on to the obvious, and for some odd reason, I almost _wanted_ her to talk to me...

Damn it, why was I acting like this?

But onto what I was saying, we had left for another town. I knew that there had to be a new team _somewhere_ around here... They just didn't show themselves. My plan was to search for them; however, Sherry had other plans. She would rather sit and wait for them to come to us instead of us searching for them. It didn't really matter, as I saw it. Either way, if they were a powerful team, the demon would crave a good fight as I always did, so it was only a matter of time before we found each other and fought.

I knew that the new Sherry despised fighting, but I wanted to get into the war again, I _had_ to. When I found that stone slab, it dawned on me on just how far behind we really were. I was positive that different events were springing up all around the world with the battles and I was completely left out of it. This infuriated me.

It couldn't be for the reason that there were other teams out there that tried to avoid a fight with me, because I knew there were some like that, but they were probably mostly gone by now. Either I had already defeated them or they at some point disappeared on their own. None of the other teams could be behind whatever was going on, something else was lurking about and I wanted to know _what_.

Currently we were on a bus that was driving through the next town. Sherry was sitting next to me, pouting somewhat once more, staring out the window as she held onto my black book. I was simply sitting next to her with my eyes closed, meditating and thinking to myself.

To the side, I could hear someone listening to music with a pair of headphones on. It was rather loud... I could hear them fairly well from where I was, even if they were only a few feet from me. The sound was irritating... I tried not to think about it. But everywhere on the bus I could hear people aimlessly chattering about something or another, there were a few laughs that sounded childlike and I assumed there were human children somewhere on the bus.

I sighed and opened my eyes when the bus came to a stop, I glanced to the window to see where we were. This wasn't where we wanted off, so I redirected my attention to Sherry. She was still sulking and looking out the window... No big difference there.

The woman must have sensed that I was looking at her so she turned her head to face me. I didn't turn away. Her expression softened and she sighed, shaking her head slightly before she averted her attention.

The bus began to move again. We would probably get off somewhere around the next stop... Today Sherry and I had been traveling for a while, searching for the enemy. We had no luck, so we trained a little more and were now returning back to the hotel we were staying at.

Eventually the bus stopped again and I looked around, this was where we needed to get off. I turned around and informed Sherry it was time to go, she nodded her head slightly without saying a word and picked up my book and followed me out the door. Both of us hopped off the vehicle and looked around at the building to the side, which was our hotel.

I turned to look at Sherry again before I motioned her to follow; we headed into the building and eventually found ourselves at our room. Sherry had the keys, so I stepped back and watched as she unlocked the door and soon headed in, I followed her and walked to the window, staring out at the scenery. There were a lot of buildings where we were located and there was lots of traffic down there too. But not too far off was a clear opening that nobody went to very often, this was where Sherry and I had spent out time training for a while now as we searched for the enemy, whom was nowhere in sight but I knew they were around.

The woman was resting on the couch, leaning her back against the arm of the sofa while her legs were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. My black book was set on a table to the side.

"Brago, are we going to train again tomorrow?" Sherry asked tiredly after a moment of silence. I nodded my head before I answered.

"Yes," I said, "I know that there's a team nearby somewhere, I intend to find them so we can fight. We also need to train, Sherry, because if you're not strong enough to handle the fifth spell when it appears, then I'll never become king."

The woman sucked in air and exhaled as she emitted a long sigh before she began to rub her eyes slightly. There was yet another silence and I stared at the woman blankly before she began to speak.

"Brago... I have... a question... It's been bothering me for a while..."

"A question?"

"Mmhmm. I uh..." she trailed off as she turned around on the sofa, now having her legs dangling off the edge. Her feet, which were poking out from underneath her pink dress, were bare since her white boots were thrown off to the side near the doorway. Turning her head around, she gazed at me for a moment before she averted her gaze. "I meant to say this a couple of weeks ago... but I couldn't bring myself to ask you..."

"Go ahead," I said as I folded my arms, a little unsure of what this would lead to.

"Brago, I..." Again, she trailed off before she shook her head. "How am I to... to say this... Are you... trying to control me...?"

The questioning look in her eyes was so strong I couldn't turn away. I had to think to myself for a moment before I even considered speaking. Didn't she mention something about this when we found that stone slab on the beach? Controlling her? I hadn't really thought about my actions lately, _I _didn't consider it control. I was merely doing what I always did when the original Sherry was around, but that Sherry was long gone for now, so she obviously viewed things differently from... from _this_ Sherry.

"Control?" I inquired, echoing her question, she nodded her head before she shifted her position on the couch. I decided to speak before she did, keeping my tone sharp. "No, I'm not."

"Well..." With a shrug, Sherry rested her hands in her lap before she began to stare at the ground, continuing the subject. "I just feel like you are... You aren't being as nice to me as you were before when I woke up from my sleep and everything started. You were... kind to me..." Since when was I kind? "And I don't know why you've stopped acting like that..." With that said, the woman turned her head up to look at me and we both stared at another for a good long moment before she asked, "Why?"

This was an odd situation. In two weeks I found myself yet again uncomfortable in her presence. My thoughts drifted back to when I had found her about to be killed by Zophise and when she took me to her mansion afterwards... Our first session of training... I _did_ try to control her then, the woman wouldn't listen to me, which was aggravating, so I threatened to kill her butler. Then she had _her_ turn of attempting to control _me_ when she threatened to kill herself, I couldn't let that happen unless I wanted to lose the battle, which I didn't.

So we had no choice but to work together and that's how it's been ever since, except for the situation we were in now, that is. It had completely disrupted our cooperation. Now we argued a lot (more than how much we did before, anyway) and Sherry had the pleasant _decency_ to go through antagonizing mood swings...

After this was over, I would know the true meaning of hell...

Yet, as bad as it was, I couldn't help but feel like this was changing something within the both of us... I didn't like it. Only a few weeks ago I had started having strange desires to do odd things that, before, I would never image doing. Why was it happening? Why now?

"Brago, are you going to answer me or not?" I snapped out of my thoughts when Sherry called out to me once again, this time she was leaning her back against the couch with her arms folded, her fingers drumming against her arm in a steady rhythm, her blue glare intent and focused on me.

"I already told you, Sherry, I'm not trying to control you," I said and she sighed, shaking her head a little before she looked back up at me again.

"I know, you said that already, but why aren't you being as nice as you were before?" I said nothing so she continued with an exasperated sigh. "Brago... I never told you this, but that night I remembered Koko, I also remembered one other thing..."

Well, this was interesting. "You did?"

With a nod of her head, the woman said, "Yes... Brago... I remember the times when you tried to control me. Why did you do that? I remember that you stopped after something, I couldn't remember why on that part, but then you were kinder, and now look at you..."

So, she remembered that after all...

"I must say that it was a shock when I finally remembered it," continued Sherry without waiting for me to respond. She was staring at the ground, fiddling with her thumbs. The woman bit her lip as she said, "I don't know why... why I'm remembering these negative things. First my mother, then Koko, and now you being cruel to me..." Glancing up from where she sat, Sherry stared at me with a questioning look. "Why did you do that, Brago? Why?"

"I..." This was yet another odd situation... "It was... just the way I acted. You didn't listen to me so I had no other choice but to try and control you, yet you still didn't listen." She seemed to take that as an answer, though I was quite sure she didn't like it very much. It was the honest truth. I did act like that and she didn't listen to me either, so controlling her was the only remaining option. Even if she did listen I would have probably done that... Best not to tell her this.

"Is there any reason why you acted like that?" she asked me next and I silently shook my head. "I see..." For a moment, my bookkeeper just continued to stare at the ground quietly as she pondered to herself. She began to play with her thumbs again as the minutes rolled by, and I had to wonder what she was thinking about.

I stared at her as she continued what she was doing. Should I tell her that I found no other reason to control her now? Most likely she had a hint, or at least I hoped she did, that I wouldn't try to do that to her again. Now I found there was no need to, but still... she wasn't listening to me. I ignored the thought.

As she stared down at the ground, I couldn't help but feel an odd sensation within myself, it was though I was trying to understand how she felt too. However hard I tried though, I knew it was impossible. I was to feel no emotion whatsoever, but if any, then it should be limited. I was not to be empathetic. If I had to, I would _force_ myself from thinking what I wished to not, no matter what it took...

"Well... thank you," Sherry said quietly after the long moment of silence. I looked down at her as she stood up, keeping her gaze sharply focused on me. "I just wanted to know, that's all." I watched as she began to walk over to where I stood by the window and she stopped, still staring at me. Before she said anything more, she glanced to the ground and sighed, soon afterwards turning to look up again. "Brago, I know you won't do that again, right...?"

I was silent, but reluctantly I mumbled, "There's no need to."

She took that a little better than what I had anticipated. With a small smile forming on her face, the woman spoke, "I just wanted to say that I'm going to try my hardest to help you win this battle, I'll make you the king." Averting her attention to stare at me again, the smile turned into somewhat of a sheepish smirk, I couldn't help but smirk as well, though I couldn't understand the reasoning behind my actions.

"Good. I'll need you in this fight."

I knew that the woman was blushing slightly after I said this, but I didn't care. I was merely stating a simple fact. It was as if I were saying that the grass was green. I _would_ need her. No other human could read out of my book or fight as well as I knew she could, at least when she tried.

With a nod of her golden head, Sherry thanked me before she sighed and walked off, stating that she was going to go take a hot shower before she fixed herself something to eat. I wasn't hungry, so I decided to not worry about getting myself something. Instead, I turned back around to look out the window.

Out in the busy streets, I saw cars traveling by and stopping as people crossed the street or if the lights turned red, maybe even for some other reasons. Humans were scattered all across the sidewalks and I could barely hear some of the conversations with the combined voices, everyone chattering about random nonsense. Not too far down the road a horn went off as somebody began shouting at another. Down below, I noticed that two particular people were walking by, holding hands, a male and female.

I scowled when a particular thought entered my mind and I turned away. I wouldn't think about it, all I would think of was how to find the other team and how to somehow regain Sherry's memory. That's all I had to do in this world, nothing more. The crown would be mine and I could leave.

If I left, I would leave behind all the humans in this world... I would be back where those weak beings didn't thrive and infest the land, aimlessly wandering about within the world. I would be free from their presence.

But I would also be free from Sherry...

Turning away from the window I shook away the thought. I didn't know what came over me just then, but I decided to ignore it. I would be able to control what I did and that was that, my emotions were already one thing I could manage.

But now came the issue of having to control my desire. Everyday I feared it would cave in and I would loose complete control.

Because if it gave way, I would be in for _real_ hell, more than what I was already in.

And the extent truth of my desire would surely be known.


	18. Patience is a Virtue

_Felt like updating this today considering i really probably wouldn't have time to tomorrow, considering it's the 4th of July and that i'll be heading somewhere sometime 'round two and i'll be wakin' up sometime 'round one, like i had done today... >.>_

_Erm, yeah, i like sleepin' in. n.n' Eheheh... Speaking of the 4th, happy early 4th of July, everyone!_

_Oh, and who can guess who makes an appearance next chapter?_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Konjiki no Gash Bell, so leave me alone! I'm just another fangirl writing stories... . Ah, well._

_And i think i'm gonna torture y'all with a short chapter. It's kind of a filler one, but still, it's a chapter nonetheless, and i didn't want to rush into the action right away after it all ended last chapter. 'Cause i have something planned for the next chappy, muwahahaha... (rubs hands together evilly)_

_READ!_

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**Chapter 18**

**Patience is a Virtue**

Yet a few more days had passed and Sherry and I continued to train each and every day, all the while searching for the enemy as we scoped through the town and forest. I had to admit it, but the woman had become a lot stronger ever since this whole fiasco started, though she wasn't nearly as close to the level of how she was before. But however the case, I had to remind myself that this was truly great improvement.

And it was. Sherry had not only managed to become physically stronger, but I also noticed that she had become mentally stronger as well. It had been a very long time since I saw her cry, which was good. In fact, she hadn't done so since the discovery of that stone slap. She really had made improvement.

But even though she had the small light of success shining upon her, the woman still had her faults. Though she didn't cry as much anymore, there were still those damn mood swings. Even if she did declare for the second time that she would make me king, she still became immensely happy a lot of times and would go back to acting somewhat childish at the most random of moments. This greatly annoyed me. However, it wasn't as frequent as it used to be, so I was grateful for that. If I had to deal with her childish antics at handling things much more than I already had to, then I would go insane…

But in any case, there was much improvement on Sherry's case. Though I had to wonder about something that had been nagging me for a while now…

No matter how much or how long we trained, I had yet to see or sense any signs of the fifth spell's appearance. I knew that it took time for a new one to arrive and that I had to be patient, but I really needed that spell back. Spells required specific situations to occur and I had no idea how to make one happen. Usually it would be with something unique and important, or if I was feeling an unusually great amount of emotion (which I didn't particularly enjoy), as I saw that a spell would normally show itself on these occasions. But still… the damn spell wouldn't appear! What was taking it so long? It should have come around by now!

I hoped that in our next fight the incantation would appear again, as the fourth spell had done so in the battle with Furigaro. That was pure luck that it appeared when it did, and I needed more luck in order to regain what was lost.

Though I also had to realize that it wasn't just the fifth spell I had to regain. There was still the issue of Sherry's lost memories and personality that had to be found, and as said before, she did have _some_ improvement, however it wasn't perfect. I needed the perfection that the original Sherry had in order to complete this quest for king. Unfortunately the old Sherry had yet to appear and I wondered when she would.

I wished that she would appear again… One could say that I somewhat _missed_ having her around… But the only thing closest to her at the present moment was the woman that she had been replaced by, the new Sherry. Although I had to admit it, when she stopped her fussing and crying and completely annoying mood swings, she wasn't too bad, but if I had to choose, I would go for the original.

And here I found myself debating over two different women whom were actually the same person… With a mental sigh, I turned and stared at Sherry as she stood next to me on my right. We were out in that field again where we carried out our training while waiting for the enemy to show their faces. Today was yet another long, uneventful day where all we had done was trained and searched. Still no luck, however, and it had been such a long time since we arrived here. But the enemy was somewhere within the area—I just knew they were! And since it was hard to sense them, I also realized that it had to be a powerful team.

Knowing this, I couldn't help but feel a thrilling sensation well up within me. Never before could I resist a good fight, I wondered when I could finally find them and actually have the face off. Perhaps Sherry would do well during the battle…

But I had to consider the fact that since they most likely would be a powerful team I had to be concerned over Sherry's well being if we did fight. She would probably not do as well as I would wish, so I had to train her and prepare her for the future battle. We both needed the preparation and thus we trained harder and longer, that was the only best option for us.

Not only that, but the new Sherry didn't enjoy fighting too much, which was a disappointment. I couldn't understand how one couldn't resist standing up to a challenge to see how well they would do and compare themselves to others. The thrill of being pushed to the limit in order to defeat one's foe was exhilarating; there wasn't any other better feeling than that.

So Sherry and I continued to train that day and I could feel the both of us getting stronger as we did. There was something about her that made me wonder if training her like this helped make her harsher, like the original Sherry had been. I needed her strict behavior again because that was one of the key factors that helped us so much in the past: She was confident and knew that we could win every battle without mercy, and sure enough, we did.

So why couldn't this Sherry be the same? I wondered why. They both had the same body, looks, but not the personality. They were too damn different. Fine, I admit it. I missed the old Sherry. Whatever, but this was completely insane.

I could sense whenever this Sherry was feeling down… Sometimes when I was too (the damn personality was rubbing off on me), she would act morose… which was annoying. Did she somehow feel what I was feeling now? Great.

Well… At least I knew that in a matter of time, the new Sherry would be back and so would all of my spells that I had lost. Not to mention the ones I would gain in the future. I merely had to be patient and wait for that time to come. After all, I had all the time in the world… right?

No, I didn't, and as Sherry continued to remotely stay as she was, the teams around us continued to get more powerful each and every day. This was infuriating to realize how far behind I was. I _had_ to get as strong as they were—No, I had to get _stronger_!

And as they increased in power, the throne would surely disappear from my reach, something that I would never, ever, let happen.

Not in a million years, because I would outmatch them all.


	19. Tranquility to Turmoil

_Ah, i am impatient, i just had to upload this chapter... I was bored and, oh, well, i'm not gonna bore you with my ramblings... xD_

_Oh, but i did find this cool website that enables you to make your own icon for IM... I had lots of fun with that yesterday. n.n I made my own lil' icon with Brago, Sherry, and my OC, Kalu... 'Tis so cute! But the IM on the computer at my mom's house doesn't show it, it's only at my dad's, but others can see it, so i'm sad... T-T (sniffle) Maybe i just need to update my IM..._

_Gr. But anywho, i had to at least share that tid bit. xD Oh, and i'm aware that this scene later on in this chapter may seem rather OOC for Brago, but it was too cute to resist, i just had to write it. You'll see what i mean when you read it... (i had actually been planning to write that for a while now, so be nice?)_

_And i am happy. Alumu finally appeared on Zatch Bell; his voice is alright... Despite the fact he's a clown (and i don't particularly like clowns), Alumu rocks. xD But Pamun is cooler yet he hasn't appeared yet... (sigh). Yeah... had to throw that in too._

_Disclaimer: Who said i owned this?_

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**Chapter 19**

**Tranquility to Turmoil**

So I had previously admitted that I missed the old Sherry, but there was a more serious case on my behalf that I had to be concerned about. Every day I felt my desire growing stronger and I feared that sometime or another it would break and I would lose all of the remaining control I possessed. And when that happened, I would be in for real hell, or was it merely just something that this new Sherry craved as well?

I would constantly find myself in awkward situations, just _itching_ to do something while I was around the woman. I would literally have to find something to restrain myself with before I did anything rash. One time I even panicked and the woman questioned me if I was all right; I merely snapped at her that I was fine and walked away.

But I didn't know what to do… The barrier that I had set up around myself to keep me away from the woman was weakening. If I were not careful, I would do something that I would completely regret and would be unable to take back.

In the meanwhile, a little less than a weak had passed and Sherry and I still had no luck in finding the enemy. I could feel myself growing even more enraged knowing the fact that they weren't showing their faces… As much as I desired one thing, I also desired to fight with the other team. My thirst for battle had yet to be quenched and I was growing more and more agitated by the minute.

Sherry, on the other hand, didn't mind the fact that we hadn't fought yet. She merely said that it was good quality time for the two of us. Whatever. That didn't really matter to me, but I knew the enemy was around here somewhere and I was determined to find them, I wouldn't leave this area until I did so, unless I was positive that they had left. However, I highly doubted that that would happen. Perhaps we were all just running around in circles, searching for another…

Nonetheless, Sherry was also growing tired of the routine we had, searching for the enemy and training constantly every day. She even told me that she wanted to do something else for a change, for at least one day. I glared.

"Like what?" I inquired, staring at her with my arms folded across my chest. "You know that we have to continue our training if we are to win the match against the other team."

"I know, I know, it's just…" She trailed off with a shrug. "I'm just so tired of all this training and searching for the enemy! Every day it's constantly the same thing, we can never do anything fun anymore and I'm just so _bored_!"

"You know, Sherry," I said, "Your previous self never had fun, it was very rare when she did. She was always searching for a way to end this war as soon as possible and was constantly training and searching for the enemies. So, if you want to become more like her, you're going to have to start acting like her and taking up her traits."

"But…" Sherry protested with a pout. "It's been so long since I've had any fun! Hey, how about this, you can give me a one-day break and we can both consider it a rare time of fun like the old me would have? What about that?" She looked so relentless with her azure eyes persistently staring at me, all until I agreed.

I sighed. "Fine, do what you want, but for one day and one day only." I glared at her before continuing. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, I don't know…" She shrugged again before standing up and turning to look out the window. We were currently in the hotel again, it was sometime around 3:00 in the afternoon and it was a clear day. Sherry had previously eaten her lunch a little while ago and we had afterwards been considering what to do for the remainder of the day since we had been searching for most of the morning. Evidentially, this caused my bookkeeper to become rather bored so she brought up the subject after her lunch.

With a sigh, I shook my head and said, "If you're going to take a day off then you might as well figure out what you're going to do. I'm not going to give you any suggestions, however. It's not something _I_ want to do."

"Fine, then!" she said and glared at me, I merely glared right back as my eye twitched and I held my breath, waiting for her to make a decision. "Well… we could rent some skates!" she said after a minute of thinking. I blinked and exhaled.

"Skates?" I inquired. "…What are those?"

Hearing my question, the woman giggled as if it were the funniest thing in the world. I waited impatiently for her to stop and she soon responded, looking up at me with a large smile adorned on her face. "You don't know what skates are? Well, they're these really fun things you wear on your feet and it's almost like… Oh, just let me show you them!"

With that, she just hopped up, taking the keys to the hotel room and running towards the door. "Come on!" she urged and I followed her with a sigh, taking my black book with me since she had forgotten it. _Sherry…_

When we were out in the hall, I reminded her about what she had done and the blonde blushed slightly before taking the book back from me and placing it in the container on her white belt that she would often use to carry my book.

"Sorry," she said and turned away momentarily before saying, "Well, then, let's go! I remember seeing this place before that allows you to rent some skates. I think it was the other day when I saw it…"

I sighed and allowed her to lead me to where the place was. We headed there by foot since it was only down the road from where the hotel was, I could understand how she would remember spotting it, considering a bus stop we often used was right by it and we had once headed down that road in that direction to explore town at one point.

The place wasn't too big, but I had noticed from the front that it also had an inside part of the building as well as an outside, somewhere outdoors where others could go to 'skate,' whatever that meant. Sherry still had yet to tell me. There weren't that many people there, either, perhaps maybe one or two others, it didn't matter.

We had gone to the outside section of the building and I was glancing to the side at the different posters on the outside walls. I didn't recognize the writing so I ignored them afterwards. Sherry called out my name and I turned around only to see her holding out these strange pairs of shoes to me, they had wheels underneath them on the bottom.

"What're these?" I asked, staring at her oddly. She giggled before answering.

"They're skates!" she said enthusiastically. "They're what you wear on your feet, now try these on, Brago, so we can start already." I blinked before cautiously taking them from her. She expected me to wear _these_? Ridiculous.

I looked up at her again as I took the skates and she urged me to just try them on once more. I sighed and nodded my head as she led me to where a small bench was and I attempted to put them on, they didn't fit.

"Damn things are broken," I muttered and threw the skates on the ground. Sherry only laughed at me and I stared at her with a glare. "What's so funny?"

"You didn't take your shoes off, so of course they won't fit."

I glared at her again, anger rising within me. I huffed and turned around without a word and took off my black boots, throwing them to the side and then trying to put on the skates. Surprisingly, they fit.

"See?" said Sherry while I remained silent. "Now all you need to do is tie them so they can support yourself while you're out there. I'm going to go get mine." And that she did, afterwards getting up from the bench before going to the counter where a man handed her a different pair of skates, this time light brown, unlike mine which were gray.

She walked over to me and put on her own pair and I watched as she removed her own white boots, revealing her feet adorned in small, white socks. After she was done with that, she looked up at me with a smile and stood up, slightly shaky, and almost seemed to glide as she twirled around before stopping in front of me with a large grin.

"Come on, Brago, let's go already!" she said. I stared at her blankly before muttering a 'whatever' to myself and I stood up, only to lose my balance and fall down onto the ground. Sherry giggled and I glared even harder.

"What the hell are these things?" I inquired and she laughed.

"Skates!"

"I know, you've told me."

"Just watch!" She pointed in the direction of some other people beyond our reach where a small cement court was; a small trail from where we were led to there. A couple of people were out on the court, wearing the same strange shoes as us. They were all traveling quite fast and appeared to be gliding as Sherry had been a minute ago. I turned to look at the woman again, whom was still smiling. "Now if you use these right, you can skate like those people. It's actually a lot of fun once you get the hang of it."

I glared. "Since when did you skate?"

She shrugged. "I never have, but it looks fun!" I sighed and shook my head.

"Humans," I said and I stood up again, this time making sure I kept my balance. Sherry continued to grin as I stared at the ground to where my feet were. All right, so she wanted me to skate with her… these human tactics were strange. What was the point in this?

"OK, so let's go!" Suddenly the woman took my hand and led me to where the court was. A small breeze met my senses and it felt as if I were gliding along the ground with her, I found that I had to keep making sure my balance was in check so I could keep up with the woman. As soon as I got the hang of it, however, it wasn't so bad, I supposed.

Sherry let go of my hand and turned around, still smiling. We were out in the middle of the court now while hardly any people were there with us. I slowed down in order to regain my balance and I thought to myself. This could possibly be like training, just master this and don't make a fool of yourself…

"Heh, heh, looks like Brago's having difficulty, eh?" I glared at the woman when she said that. I was standing still while she was merely skating around me in a circle, twirling about. "Come on, you're no fun!" she teased.

"Shut up," I growled, my eye twitched again.

"Well, Brago, if you're so great at this, then come and get me!" She laughed insistently before taking off, leaving me to stare at her in pure agitation.

"Idiot," I muttered before going after her. Don't make a fool out of yourself; you're no fool. Turns out when I put my mind to it, this 'skating' wasn't too bad. I felt that I could actually do better than Sherry here if I tried. I smirked in victory when I caught up with her, completely balanced and going at a high speed.

She blushed deeply when I grabbed her wrists and pulled her close to me, not really knowing what I was doing. Looking up at me with her azure eyes, Sherry's blush remained and she smiled.

"OK, so you caught me," she mumbled and I let go of her.

"Hn, had enough?" I said and began to travel the opposite way. I watched her from a distance when she then smiled and shook her head, calling at me to wait up.

"That's not it!" she said when she finally caught up with me. I looked down at her and noticed how happy she appeared. There was a slight wind blowing due to our skating like this, her hair was somewhat in her face but otherwise fairly neat looking. Her lips were curved upwards into a smile and she was laughing. I had to admit it, but I hadn't seen Sherry like this in a while. It was… good to see her like this…

Damn it. Don't think of anything else…

So we both continued like this for a while until I noticed that Sherry was in a very good mood and she skated rather close to me. This I ignored. In the meanwhile, I was fighting off certain feelings that were intruding into my mind. The irritating urge to _do_ something was bothering me to no end; I feared that I would eventually cave in.

Luckily before anything else could really happen, Sherry pulled up to a stop and glanced at the clock that was on the wall. 5:23 P.M… Was it really that late? I hadn't noticed how time had peculiarly crept by so quickly… Was _I_ actually enjoying this too?

I really didn't know myself anymore.

"Wow, Brago, we should probably head back," said the woman as she turned around with a large smile. A blush crept upon her cheeks and she glanced to the ground before turning back around to where we had left our shoes. I followed her afterwards and proceeded to take off the skates like she started to do as well.

I had to admit it, but… being with her like this today… It… it wasn't so bad, perhaps… Damn it, what _was_ I thinking?

After a minute or two we had both handed back the skates to the counter when I noticed something awkward; no one was there. I turned around and realized that we were the only ones in the park. Strange… a minute ago there were others here as well. I turned back around as Sherry and I decided to just leave the skates on the counter. She said that someone would eventually pick them up; I didn't really care.

"Thanks, Brago," said Sherry after a minute of silence. We were now putting on our own boots again near the bench. I glanced up at her but said nothing. "I really thank you today for doing this with me, I…" she trailed off, a large blush clearly seen on her face. I ignored this and merely glanced at her. She was just standing there, not really saying much or doing anything but looking to the side, evidentially lost in her own thoughts, thinking of something.

"Sherry?" I called her name.

She jumped slightly and looked back at me, a large smile on her face now. "Brago, I just wanted to say that I really, um… that I really do…" she trailed off again, shifting the weight under her feet uncomfortably before glancing up at me. "That I really…"

My eyes widened when I heard what she said next.

"…Love you…"

I glanced up and stared at her, not quite sure what I just heard. "What—"

"_Korudo."_

Before I could possibly even say anything, I quickly froze, instinct immediately taking over. "Sherry!" I shouted and grabbed her hand, pulling her down with me as I jumped away. A sudden surge of ice swept across where we stood, completely freezing the section where Sherry and I had previously been standing.

The both of us fell to the ground with a loud thud with Sherry lying on top of me and me on my back. We both glanced over to where two figures stood in the distance and my eyes widened. From where the ice had emerged there were two silhouettes, one with her hand outstretched, the other holding onto a pale blue book aglow with a soft light…

"B-Brago," started a flustered Sherry, "What just…?"

"Quiet," I snapped and sat up, still holding onto the woman, slightly unconscious of what I was doing. Still staring into the distance, I noticed that the demon and human were both females, one had an evil smirk spread across her face while the other was emotionless. "Sherry," I said, now helping her up.

"W-what?" she questioned, staring at the other pair as well.

"I think we've found the enemy, or rather, the enemy's found us."

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_Has anyone guessed who just appeared yet?_


	20. Equivalent to More

_Gr. Sorry if the fight scene isn't TOO good... they're rather hard... I also apologize for any OOCness that may appear in this and the next two chapters. But i'm still editing the ones after this, so... Hopefully they'll be better by the time i update them. >.>_

_And for those who guessed right, the character from the last chapter that appeared IS my OC, Hiebie. I had mentioned her in chapter 8 if you didn't already know who it was._

_n.n Animation is very fun to do, yes it is. I'm at this camp thingy where i'm learning it... We're using that Flash Program thing. Don't really like it too much but it's kinda fun, i suppose._

_Anywho, here's an update! Hope it's satisfactory._

_Diclaimer: I do not own anything of this, however, Hiebie and her bookkeeper are mine._

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**Chapter 20**

**Equivalent to More**

The one reason why I hated the enemy finding us first was because we would most likely be off guard, and this we certainly were. That's why I always trained to become stronger so that when we _were_ caught off guard, we would at least be prepared or could stand up for ourselves when the enemy sent an onslaught of attacks.

I stared at the new team before us with wide eyes while Sherry gazed in their direction as well. The one that appeared to be the demon was standing a few feet before the human, whom was clutching onto a pale blue book. She had a dark aura about her that made her appear strong, I wondered if she could put up a good fight.

The demon had pale skin with silvery blue hair tied up on the back of her head, she glared at me with her equally pale eyes and smirked, putting her hand that had created the spell on her hips. Her shirt was light blue with different crisscross designs on it that was held up by what looked like a necklace, along with a dark blue sash around her waist. Her boots were white with dark crisscross designs on them and I could barely see darker blue shorts underneath her sash. She glanced over to her own bookkeeper, who I looked over to as well.

The human didn't look as menacing; I quickly noticed this. However, there was something strange about her and how she stared at me blankly, without at least any emotion whatsoever. I didn't think her heart was controlled, but still… there was the possibility that was what was causing the sensation. She stared at me blankly with her gray eyes and tilted her head to the side slightly, her somewhat silver bangs falling over her eyes. She was dressed in what appeared to be a normal outfit, with a short-sleeved black shirt on and tight white pants. There was even a large, white scarf around her neck.

"Hiebie," murmured the human impassively, "Is this the team?"

"Of course it is, human!" snapped the demon identified as Hiebie. I blinked at the two of them and then helped Sherry up as I looked over to the other shout at her bookkeeper. "Do you seriously think I would lead us all this way for a bunch of _amateurs_? Idiot!"

My brow furrowed deeply and I growled. "We're not amateurs."

The other demon spun around quickly with a blink and quickly frowned. "Oh, you're a bunch of amateurs all right. In fact, you're just a bunch of naïve _fools_."

I growled as I glared again and then realized I was still holding onto Sherry. Quickly, I let go as my bookkeeper blushed and then started to take out my own book, I continued to glower at the other team.

"So, you're the ones we've been looking for, huh?" I asked irritably, noting the power I was sensing from this duo. Of course it was, idiot! What were you thinking? Who else would emit such power like these two?

Hiebie snorted in discontent before glaring down at me and Sherry even harder than I had done to her. "Of course we are! Must I explain _everything_ to you idiots?"

When I glanced over to her own keeper of the book, I noticed how she seemed unfazed by all of the crude remarks her partner was saying. Strange, I thought, whenever _I_ said anything of the sort to Sherry, she'd start crying… Or at least the new Sherry would, anyway. The old one would just yell more remarks back at _me_, and then we'd be in a completely pointless fight about nothing.

In fact, the human merely continued to stare at the two of us with a blank, gray-eyed look, not at all flinching when her demon turned around to snap at her again.

"Now in the meanwhile, human, cast a spell already!" yelled Hiebie angrily, afterwards turning around to face Sherry and I again with her arms outstretched, prepared to launch an attack. In the very split second I realized what was happening I looked towards Sherry and ordered her to cast a spell as well.

"_Reisu!" "Korudo."_

The attacks were called out simultaneously. My right hand was shot up in the air and a hurtling ball of gravity was sent towards the other team, in the meanwhile, Hiebie sent a shockwave of ice that quickly settled on the ground in our direction.

"Damn it!" I cursed as I quickly pulled Sherry out of the way when the flow of ice caught up with us—we had used the wrong type of spell. While my attack was sent in the air, Hiebie's was heading towards us via the ground. Not good.

Unfortunately, Sherry's foot ended up getting caught in the ice wave. She was sent tumbling down a little sooner than I had predicted, in fact, she ended up landing right on top of me. Again. There was a squeak as she fell over me, fortunately she was still clutching onto my book, so that was good. However, I glared as I saw the other team dodge my Reisu as if it were nothing, even at its high speed.

"Ha! Pathetic!" muttered the ice demon as she jumped to the side, landing on a bench not very far from where she stood. "Human, cast the next spell!"

I stared. Damn it, what was she going to do next? Quickly glancing over to her bookkeeper again, she monotonously called out the next spell, while I merely urged Sherry to try and get up.

"_Telokorudo."_

Hiebie's hands glowed and suddenly an ice barrier was summoned around both Sherry and I; there was a sudden intense chill that swept across the both of us and I could feel it immediately becoming immensely colder.

"Kuso," I muttered under my breath, staggering to get to my feet. Sherry watched me helplessly as she then realized her predicament and started to try to tug her foot out from the ice, unfortunately that didn't work. Though I managed to stand up and walk over to the wall of ice, however I could feel myself slowly beginning to freeze. It was becoming colder by the second…

I brought my hand back in a curled fist and swung it forward, attempting to punch down the barrier. Unfortunately it didn't crack, even after hitting the ice multiple times.

I stared. "What…"

"Heh, you can't break that with a simple punch," said the other demon harshly as she jumped over to where we were on the outer edge of the ice barrier. I stared at her through the ice. "It's going to take more than that to bring it down." Her eyes were aglow with a dark look and I growled under my breath once more.

"B-Brago, w-what are we going t-to do…?" murmured Sherry through shivers; the woman still couldn't manage to free her foot. She was now curled up with her arms around herself, my book held closely to her chest.

"I… don't know," I said back. Even I had to admit it—it was getting chillier. If we didn't get out of this sooner, we would freeze, and I couldn't allow my book to get burned in this type of situation. I attempted to punch down the ice again but it didn't work, it felt as though I were getting weaker as the time passed by and I became colder. Crap!

Outside the barrier, I could see Hiebie staring at us with a blank look, waiting for us to make the next move. It was then I realized that I too had my book. Damn it, what was wrong with me, not using my head? Turning around, I ordered Sherry to call out the third spell.

"All-all right," she murmured, opening the black book to a certain page. _"G-Giganoreisu!"_

A larger energy began to gather in my palm and power up. Hiebie's eyes widened and she immediately leapt back upon seeing what I was doing; the Giganoreisu began to charge up even more and more until I finally launched it. The spell collided with the ice and it shattered quickly like a broken mirror, sending ice fragments everywhere.

Sherry and I were immediately sent flying backwards onto our backs quite away from the blast. Sherry groaned in pain as she hit the ground, soon forcing herself to sit up. At least her foot had been pulled out from the ice from the blast… Shoe and all.

"W-what was that?" she asked quietly, sitting up after shivering slightly. I turned around only to be met by a foot in my face and was sent flying backwards again. "BRAGO!" shrieked Sherry and she too had been sent back.

I managed to sit up just in time to see Hiebie looming over me, a dark smirk creeping upon her lips. "Fool," she murmured and kicked me in the side again, this time afterwards sending a rally of punches in my face. I quickly regained some control and jumped out of the way, blocking a few of her physical attacks as well as sending some of my own.

Unfortunately she blocked all of them as if it were the easiest thing in the world. I stared at her angrily and yelled as I sent my curled up fist flying in her direction with all my might. Still, she dodged it. Perhaps she was on the level _I_ was at before Sherry's memory was erased?

"Come on, you're so weak!" she taunted and twirled about, kicking me again. I fell backwards, right next to Sherry whom had finally stood up again. My bookkeeper screeched my name once more and bent down to see if I was alright, I reassured her that I was and stood up to look the ice demon in the eye with an angry glare.

"She's strong," I said quietly but loud enough for Sherry to hear. The blonde turned to look at me with a concerned look, obviously not liking the obvious news.

"C-can we defeat her?" she inquired worriedly, glancing over to the other demon as she bit her lip anxiously. "Can we do it?"

"We will," I said and stood up, not at all removing my gaze from the other teams' direction. There was something about those two I really didn't like… it was coming from her bookkeeper. She stared at me blankly as if she weren't frightened in the least about what was going on… I woke up from my daydream and reminded myself that I was in the middle of a battle and certainly couldn't zone out, unless I was willing to face the consequences.

Hiebie stepped forward, frowning. "You guys are boring me," she said quietly, I growled and ran forward, aiming to strike her in the face. But before I knew it, I was turned around and thrown onto the ground face first. I groaned in agitation and glared up at the demon before me, who had pinned me down with my arms behind myself, sitting on my back to prevent me from moving. I glowered even deeper.

"Damn it," I cursed, turning to look up at the one above me. "What's your intention?" I muttered angrily through gritted teeth, staring at the pale-eyed demon with a crimson gaze. She blinked before my question registered and snorted.

"Oh, I really don't care about becoming the next ruler of our world," she murmured blankly. "I'm just here for the kicks. Besides, it's quite interesting watching others suffer… Like you."

I growled before rolling around and kicking her in the side, sending her tumbling over as she growled at me angrily while I caught her off guard. At least I accomplished one thing…

"Sherry!" I shouted, turning to look towards my bookkeeper. "Cast a spell, now!"

She glanced at me without a word and nodded her head, flipping to a page in the book as she called out my third spell. _"Giganoreisu!"_

I turned around and shot my powered up gravity ball towards the opponent, Hiebie's expression didn't change, but she quickly jumped forward and blocked the attack with her hands. Afterwards, she ordered her human counterpart to cast a different spell.

"Human, spell number five!"

I blinked. Five? Just how many spells did they have? So far I had only seen two…

The human nodded in acknowledgement before turning around to look into the book and she called out the spell that was ordered. _"Korusen."_

As I watched from a distance, I noticed Hiebie's hands freeze, ice immediately covering her wrists as she smirked in a victory-styled way, afterwards punching away my Giganoreisu with ease. I stared in bewilderment, but before I could do anything else, Hiebie was charging towards me, her fists still frozen. She thrust her right hand in my face and I yelled as I was thrown to the side, though I immediately caught myself as I landed on the ground and kicked her away from me, charging towards my opponent.

Sherry then called out a spell, _"Gurabirei!"_

I sent the other demon's foot down onto the ground, causing her to stumble slightly. She hissed a curse under her breath before punching me away from her with the frozen fists her spell had given her. Staggering backwards, I too cursed and then glanced towards Sherry, whom was giving me a look of concern.

"Brago, are you…?"

"I'm fine!" I said and turned away, wiping the blood that was trickling down my mouth away. I didn't want to deal with any more of her tirades, especially after what she said to me earlier… Though with that spell and those punches… I had to make sure that she didn't attack Sherry with one of them, even if she was somewhat bothersome with comments like that, she wouldn't be able to handle it. I turned back around to face Sherry and ordered her to cast another spell.

She nodded, _"Aian Gurabirei!"_

Instead of a weaker attack like Gurabirei, I sent a larger version of it onto Hiebie as she then realized what it was. Unfortunate for me, she quickly jumped up out of the way as my old attack wore off and ran in a different direction. Heh, nice try. She ran over to her bookkeeper and commanded her to do something, I couldn't really hear her, though my eyes widened when I saw their next spell.

"_Korushi."_

Instead of an ice barrier, an ice _shield_ was instead summoned to protect the two. My Aian Gurabirei attack hit their shield head on, I couldn't hear any cracks or anything from the protection. Instead, my spell wore off and the other two were spared. Great!

I turned around to face Sherry; there was a worried look on her face that I had made me feel anxious as well. Over in the other team's direction, the two were staring at us both with an equal dispassion. I growled under my breath and jumped back so I would be next to Sherry and tell her my next plans of action.

She glanced at me and turned to look at the other team. I knew that she wasn't particularly enjoying this fight… I had to admit it, but even though I craved a good battle, I didn't like having to be caught off guard like I was today. There was something wrong with this fight and I wanted to find out what. Hiebie was at least my power, maybe more, so we were almost equally matched, but nonetheless… that wasn't it.

And with the blonde's comments from earlier, those three words of confession… Why did it have to be those? Why did she tell me that, why? A strange sensation had welled up within me when I heard her speak to me, and then suddenly this fight arose. I wasn't sure if I should be thankful for the intrusion or not… I honestly just didn't know what to think anymore.

However, there was one thing that I was currently musing over that I for sure had to succeed over. It was this battle: Sherry and I had to win, no matter what the cost.

And win, we would.


	21. Disturbing End

_And here i am updating this because i have nothing better to do at the present moment._

_I apologize for making the fight seem a little rushed as it ends, but that's just how it turned up and i couldn't think of any other way to write it unless i wanted to mess it all up... >. So this is the result. And, no, it's not the end of the story xD It's just ze chapter's name..._

_Wow, i really do hate this chapter. I'm quite sure there's at least a lil' OOCness within Brago here, but then again, i DID warn about that the previous chapter._

_Eh. Read on, people, read on..._

_Disclaimer: I do not own this. However, Hiebie and her bookkeeper are mine._

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Erased

**Chapter 21**

**Disturbing End**

So the fight continued on, both of the teams were powerful. Despite the fact I knew I was strong, I was somewhat amazed that I was able to keep up with this other team, considering Sherry's condition. If she were back to normal, I knew that we could have finished this battle a long time ago. But now, things were different. We had an obstacle in our way while the other team was merely taking their sweet time.

Nonetheless, we had to win this fight, no matter what the cost! The skate park was getting rather destroyed now, due to my gravity attacks and Hiebie's ice. Sherry and I had to be careful not to slip on any of the slick material, otherwise that would give the other team a great advantage in our small down time. I was surprised no idiotic humans came around and asked us why we were fighting like this, or would have maybe run off saying there were 'aliens' running amok.

But what got me curious was Hiebie's bookkeeper. I couldn't tell whether she was controlled or not, she seemed so… spaced out while she fought. It was unbelievable. Sherry could space out at times, yes, but to this degree, no.

"_Gigano Korudo."_

Sherry and I quickly dodged yet another ice attack sent by the other team; this time it was a larger version of her Korudo spell. It was almost like my Aian Gurabirei in a way, how it covered a great deal more of space than other attacks. Sherry and I countered this assault with that said spell.

The gravity crushed the ice, sending little fragments everywhere. This we also had to dodge in order to prevent ourselves from being cut by the sharp edges, which we had already done quite a few times before. Hiebie seemed to have an advantage on that case, she knew her attacks like the back of her hand and she could easily avoid the ice shards. Of course, this was to be expected, as every demon should know their own abilities. If they didn't, well, then I had to consider them the most pathetic creatures to ever exist.

"_Reisu!"_

I sent my gravity ball hurtling in the other direction towards the other team. Hiebie jumped out of the way while her bookkeeper merely stepped to the side as if it were nothing, I growled.

"Crap… Sherry, a spell!"

Again, the repeated lines shot through the air, ringing in my ears.

"_Reisu!"_

I charged forward, this time heading towards the other team's human. The book owner of the pale blue book just stared at me while Hiebie shouted something incoherent. I glared when I heard the spell's name and saw its effect.

"_Korushi."_

The ice shield that was summoned barricaded the human from my attack, which, like many other previous times, didn't even create a crack. I heard in the distance the other demon shouting something to her bookkeeper.

"You idiot! Try to avoid the attack next time, that's my book we're talking about!"

I turned around to face Hiebie. "I thought you didn't care about this battle."

She sneered at me before running up with a flying fist that I dodged quickly before running backwards in order to avoid the rally of punches she was throwing. "I have nothing better to do than to fight in this battle. The Makai is so boring, I won't be sent back!"

And with that, she kicked me again, but I blocked it with my wrist and punched her in the face. "That's your problem," I snarled while Sherry called out my Reisu spell once more, which I hurled in the other's face. She shrieked and fell backwards before jumping up again and sending a spell at me that I had yet to hear.

"_Teika Korudosen."_

The other scowled before she sent a rally of frozen ice balls from her hand at both Sherry and I at high speed. I quickly ordered my bookkeeper to run and that she did; she sprinted across the field while I punched away the ice balls, only to leave my knuckles numb and in pain, there was even blood trickling down them but that I could ignore. I growled and turned around to face Hiebie up close. She gave me a look of disdain and quickly kicked me down. I turned around to punch her again but she dodged my attack.

"Sherry," I began to order, "Try to take her book!"

With a nod of her head, the blonde began to run towards the other team's book holder. "Come here!" said Sherry as she jumped up, aiming to snatch the pale blue book from the other's grasp. However, that plan was futile. The other human merely stared at her blankly while Hiebie jumped up and kicked Sherry away, sending her screaming as she flew backwards.

"SHERRY!" I roared and ran towards the other three. Hiebie was about to kick her again when I pushed her out of the way. She ran around the opposite direction immediately after regaining her balance and snarled at me before turning to her bookkeeper to yell at.

Sherry sniveled a little before looking up at me with shaking eyes. "Brago," she murmured and I bent down to her side.

"You alright?" I questioned, glancing to the side before helping her up. The woman nodded her head slightly and I then noticed that she was bleeding on the side of her face. Great. But I too had a similar wound, along with one on my shoulder near my back where Hiebie had scraped my arm while her hands were frozen instead.

I looked down at her and couldn't help but hold onto her for a quick second as I turned around to face the other team. What had just come over me to do that, I had no idea. Sherry seemed to enjoy it, but she was still shaking when we both locked eyes with the other team.

"Oh, this is rich, just real pathetic!" said Hiebie in annoyance upon seeing Sherry and I like this. "Have your soft moments another day before I puke," She turned around to face her bookkeeper again. "Human, next spell!"

Both Sherry and I stared at her in anticipation as the bookkeeper gazed at us blankly, just staring at us with an illegible. I growled but was slightly shocked to see Hiebie smack the woman in the face, hard. She was sent to the ground with a light thud but didn't bother to make any sounds or indications of pain. Instead, she merely looked up at her demon partner with the same, blank, monotone look. I could barely see a hint of blood running down her lip.

"_Idiot_!" shrieked the ice-wielding demon. "Stop stalling and do as I say!"

"Hai…" murmured the human as she stood up, pale blue book still in her hands. She glanced at us before I sensed a small hesitation again, this time she mumbled out the next spell instead of words of acknowledgement. _"Korudo."_

My eyes widened and I jumped up out of the way, still holding onto Sherry as I landed upon a small section of a wall that was surprisingly still intact. Quickly, while I had a chance, I murmured something to the blonde and she nodded her head. I quickly let go of her as another ice attack was sent our way. I jumped to the right while Sherry leaped to the left, the next spell barely missed us but Hiebie was back on her feet again, running towards the two of us with an angry expression.

"Bastard!" she screamed as she jumped towards where I stood, aiming to strike me down with another attack. I smirked when Sherry jumped to the side with my book held up high and she called out my Gurabirei spell, which I used to pummel the other down onto the ground with a great force.

As soon as the spell ended, I jumped backwards so I was right next to Sherry and smirked again. I had told her to cast that spell when Hiebie charged towards me again, I knew she would do that, so if we were prepared and caught her off guard, we would surely hit her again.

Hiebie grumbled and staggered up to her knees and glared at me with her pale blue eyes. I glared at her as well and stepped backwards and grabbed Sherry's arm before telling her to use my fourth spell.

She blinked, "The fourth?"

I nodded my head, "Yes." I stepped back again and held out my right hand, I could see Hiebie's frown growing and I scowled as well. "What's the matter? You can always just find your own form of entertainment back in our world, there's already a bunch of weaklings there. It shouldn't be too boring if you do that."

"Oh, you don't understand," said the ice-wielding demon as she stood up strait. "It's not just other contestants or demons in general that I enjoy seeing suffer, I like to see the humans go down as well. The thrill of seeing those weaker beings suffer at your own will is just so wonderful, can't you understand?" Hiebie began to walk towards Sherry and I as she said that, I scowled and motioned towards Sherry to do something.

"_Aian Gurabirei!"_ shrieked the blonde as a great force of gravity shot out from my hand, the ice demon jumped back, ordering her bookkeeper to cast the shield.

"Human, cast a spell!" she yelled, but I quickly noticed a slight pause. Her partner was staring at us again with that illegible look, just standing there… "Human, NOW!"

She blinked. _"Koru—"_

Too late.

My spell had immediately hit the other demon before the human could call out the spell, Hiebie shrieked as she was caught under the force of my attack. I could hear her yelling out at her bookkeeper in pure anger.

"Damn you, human! Why did you stall?" The attack wore off and she lay there on the ground, staring up angrily at her partner. I watched as she stood up, coughing up a little bit of blood, and glared with all her might and thrust her fist in the other's face once more. "Idiot! This is why I hate you humans, you all deserve to die!" she spat and grabbed the other by the scruff of her shirt near the white scarf she wore. "You're supposed to cast my spells for me, why didn't you do that, _WHY_?"

Sherry and I both stared at the two blankly, not fully believing what we were seeing. Hiebie's bookkeeper merely stared back at her blankly, not even wiping the blood that was trickling down her mouth away. It was strange how she somehow was able to handle the blue haired demon's remarks.

"Brago," I turned to look at the blonde when she called out my name, Hiebie seemed completely oblivious to our actions. Sherry had a saddened look on her face and she said, "Why do they have to fight like that…? That's… that's so cruel of her…"

I said nothing but merely turned around. The other human's arms were dropped to her side but she was still holding onto the pale blue book, I decided that this could be a good time. "Sherry," I murmured and she turned around to look at me. "Cast Reisu for me."

She nodded her head and opened the book; _"Reisu!"_ and I sent the spell hurtling towards the other team. Hiebie blinked, turning around, only realizing within seconds what I had done.

"NO!" she shouted and jumped forward, striking my spell with her fist in order to keep it from hitting her book. The human merely staggered backwards after being pushed away, still staring at everyone blankly. Their book was saved, for now. Hiebie turned around with a look of pure disgust and shouted, "Cast a spell!"

The bookkeeper merely stared at Sherry and I once more, just standing there, completely ignoring her demon partner's words. I hadn't noticed it, but Sherry had walked up right behind me and had rested her hand on my shoulder. What was this other human's problem, though? Every time she saw us together or whatever, she…

"Human, what the hell are you doing?" shouted Hiebie and she turned around again. I blinked; this was another good chance!

"Sherry, another spell!" I ordered quietly but loud enough for her to get the message, the woman nodded her head and called out my first spell. I sent the ball of gravity flying towards the other team, and when Hiebie turned around to face us, it was by far too late.

The blast flew over towards the other team and hit their book, causing a blue flame to take hold of it and start eating away at the hard cover. Hiebie screeched in fury while her partner continued to grasp onto the book, even with the fire taking hold of it. Did pain even _bother_ this human?

"Human, you failed! You miserable, lowly creature, you failed!" shrieked Hiebie as she turned around and punched the other's face once more, over and over again… Behind me, there was a small wincing sound and I turned around only to see Sherry with her brows furrowed down into a frown.

"Brago, that's not right," she murmured. "How can… how can she do that to her?" Still, I said nothing but turned around to face the other duo as well. Hiebie was already disappearing back to the other world, and before anyone knew it, she was gone.

I didn't really know what it was, but something wasn't right about that battle. It seemed to end too quickly, too awkwardly… What was it? Was it merely the looks given off by her bookkeeper? I had no idea, but before _I_ knew it, Sherry was rushing over to the other, whom was still just standing there. I walked up and accompanied Sherry.

When we reached the other human, I took a good look at her hands. They were burned from touching the magical flame that had taken hold of the book and slightly stained with gray ash; I could see blood marks on her wrists from where her skin had been burned. I looked up to see her face and saw she had a few bruises forming on her cheeks with a small bloody lip. Other than that, she didn't seem that harmed…

"Are you alright?" questioned Sherry as she looked at the other silver haired woman. She still said nothing, but merely blinked at the two of us.

The monotone human then turned her head up and stared up at the night sky, I hadn't realized it had gotten this late, how long had we been fighting? She sighed lightly and then finally said, "Am I free…?" Both Sherry and I were silent. I then noticed that this human's skin was turning very pale… Something was uncanny about her, but what?

"If you're asking if that demon is gone," began the blonde after a small moment of silence, "…Then yes, she is."

There was a small pause and the other human turned to look at us again. It was hard to notice, but I saw her lips somewhat curve into a gentle smile, it was eerie. She blinked and I noticed liquid pour down from her eyes, she was quietly crying. But then something caught my eye… those weren't ordinary tears…

It was blood…

Sherry gasped and dropped my book to the ground; it landed with a small thump and she covered her shocked expression with her hand. "Oh, my…" she murmured breathlessly and was about to shake the other's shoulder, but her hands stopped about a foot away from the other. "She's so hurt…! Brago, what's wrong with her?"

I stared too. I hadn't seen anything like this before… Something this… _odd_… Not even among demons… Not that I cared, but was this human so abused by her counterpart, that this was the result?

"She's gone… I can leave…" murmured the human quietly. Sherry and I both continued to stare at her in bewilderment. The small smile adorned on her lips then faded slightly and she glanced at the two of us again. "I wish I could be together with someone too…." she whispered, I wondered what she meant by this. Her eyes slowly started to close with more blood tears trickling down her cheek. My bookkeeper gasped again.

"No, wait, _stop_! You don't have to go, you can be free without her!" shrieked Sherry as she tried to jump forward, but the other human merely began to raise her hand in a weak attempt to do something but then fell backwards onto the ground. Her facial expression was blank as her head hit the tattered cement. An odd silence filled the air afterwards and both Sherry and I stared at what we had just witnessed.

"That human…" I started quietly while Sherry sunk to her knees, sobbing. "I don't think she was controlled…" Perhaps the reason why this battle ended so quickly was because… this human wanted it to. She… really wanted to die?

Glancing down to my own bookkeeper, I saw how the hot tears began to pour down her face as she cried. Blood trickled down her face as well and I noticed how beat up the both of us really were. Our clothes were tattered and stained with the thick, crimson liquid and there were scratches all over our arms and faces. Sherry's hair was a mess, with it being in strings all over her face and damp from her tears. But it wasn't just us that were a mess; the whole area was rather destroyed, too. Not that it mattered, however…

I then glanced down to the dead human before us and couldn't help but give some form of pity to her. Though there was something eerie about her and how she left, I was _almost_ curious as to why she had acted so silent and emotionless, almost _lifeless_, to know what happened in her life to cause that attitude. Usually things like this wouldn't affect me, but strangely enough, I felt a little uncomfortable myself now too. Maybe it was just because Sherry was so upset that I had to feel this way as well. Was it that? As of recently, I had noticed that I could somewhat feel a few of the emotions that the woman felt. How much were we truly linking with one another?

"She didn't have to die!" sobbed Sherry as she put her face in her hands. "She didn't have to, she could have lived without that foul creature! Why is it this way, why, Brago, why?"

I continued to stare at the blonde for a moment and felt a heavy heave in my chest and I closed my eyes as the unusual feeling settled. It was then and there that I had the strangest and most powerful desire to tell her that everything was all right. To be with her, to _give_ her comfort…

Letting myself fall to my knees as well, I wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulder and said, "We should probably get back to the hotel now." Sherry continued crying, even as she picked up my fallen book and allowed herself to be helped up. I kept my arm around her the entire time we walked back to the hotel again, leaving the dead, nameless human at the park. I could imagine hearing those other humans talking about the discovery tomorrow… I wondered how no one could have heard the commotion going back here, not that it truly mattered…

But as I led the woman back to the hotel, I could sense something wasn't right, or at least that something wasn't about to be. I could feel the greatest urge to do something that I did not want.

My wall that I had built up to protect myself was being torn down. With Sherry there, in my arms, crying and completely vulnerable, I couldn't help but feel the greatest desire to _do_ something…

I feared I was giving in at last.


	22. Desire

_Heh, heh, heh... This was a tricky chapter to write._

_Erm, warning to those with little minds: Think about this chapter's name to know the content within it._

_Heh. >.> And for those who don't like this kinda stuff, you'll at least wanna know what happens at the end. Well... read, review, and enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: None of this is mine... 'kay?_

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Erased

**Chapter 22**

**Desire**

After the battle, I helped lead Sherry back to the hotel. She seemed too tired to fully move on her own, the woman was too busy crying her eyes out to focus on much anyway. When she buried her face in the side of my shoulder I could feel the hot tears on her face against my skin, pouring down her face. A few other human bystanders stared at us strangely as we walked down the street, even in the hotel. I could hear a few comment on the way we looked as we passed by, but I ignored everything they said and continued on my way. I had my own concerns and a stupid human's thoughts were certainly not one of them.

I had to admit it, though, after that battle… I too even felt slightly shaken up. Hiebie's bookkeeper… I had no idea what had happened to her in her lifetime, but the way she acted and how it all ended… it was too uncanny. I knew that Sherry was also upset about it all. For her, it was too obvious.

The entire time I walked Sherry back to our room, I could feel the strongest urge to do something… it was driving me utterly insane. Sherry was pouring out her heart to me and I was unfortunately listening to what she had to say. What was I to do?

When we finally reached our room, I kicked the door open and closed it the same way, afterwards trying to let go of Sherry but she suddenly clung to me with a strong force, not giving any signs of letting go.

"Brago, please don't leave me," she whispered between a sob. I merely stared at her blankly, not really thinking about what to say to her. "Please don't go, please don't leave me…"

I sighed before turning to look away for a moment. The two of us were really in a bad situation here. What should I do next? Sherry was being overemotional again, I was feeling something that I shouldn't be, and we both looked like shit.

"Brago…" When I heard the woman call out my name again, I turned around to stare at her in the eyes. Tears were forming and slowly trickling down her cheek as she sniffed, clutching onto my arm tighter. I merely sighed.

"All right… Fine," I muttered, "I'll stay… but you need to clean up…"

I had no idea what I was doing. I led Sherry to her bathroom so she could wash up, though she still clung to my arm tightly as we walked across the room. Once there, I turned around, not facing her, while she changed into her fresh nightgown. Afterwards, she picked up a towel and soaked it with water in the sink; the woman then glanced into the mirror to see where the blood was to wash it off. Now that she was done changing, I turned around and merely stood by her side, staring at my own reflection. I could see blood dripping down my forehead past the markings on my eyes. That had been one of the worst battles I had ever been in…

Sherry turned to face me after she had cleaned off the blood on her face and stared up at me with a saddened expression. "Brago," she murmured, I could tell she was desperately trying to hold back tears. "You're hurt too… You should clean up as well."

"I'm fine," I responded slowly, not really wanting to speak at the present moment. The woman's eyes saddened and she shook her head before reaching up to my face with the cloth on a clean side.

"No… you need it…" she spoke softly, dabbing the wet fabric against my face, wiping away the blood. I closed my eyes and remained silent, although I didn't really want it, the cloth felt… good. It… helped me relax somewhat… Sherry put the material back under the faucet again, rinsing off some of the blood though it was still quite stained and put it to my face once more.

When she was done, I turned to look at myself in the mirror. The blood had been cleaned up fairly well, however, the wound was still there… though it _had_ stopped bleeding.

"Where else do you need cleaned?" murmured Sherry quietly and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't need anything else."

"But please, I want to help!" said my bookkeeper quickly and I turned to look at her, I sighed before she continued. "Brago, just let me help you, let me make you happy…"

With that said in her most pitiful voice I couldn't help but sigh again. "My back, I suppose," I said quietly. There was a small wound there from where I was hit in the back with one of Hiebie's ice punches. Sherry nodded her head while I pulled off my shirt so she could reach to my back.

As she brushed the damp cloth against my back I immediately felt even more relaxed, feeling the cold fabric against my skin was near soothing. Somewhat, at least. However, one of Sherry's fingers moved off the rag and the tips touched my skin. I held my breath at the sensation of her skin against mine; I forced myself to calm down when she stopped, but I immediately froze when she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head against my back.

Turning my head around to look at her, I stared. "Sherry?"

She sobbed again, this time I could tell she wasn't able to hold back any tears. Her face was wet against my back as she started crying. "Brago… I'm… I'm just so… so…. I don't know what… I feel so sorry right now."

"Sorry for what?" I inquired softly. Why was I asking this…?

The woman inhaled and exhaled as she turned her head slightly, the bangs on her face tickled my bare back and I suddenly felt rather uncomfortable. Yet… at the same time…

"For that girl back at the park," she responded quietly. "And… and for not being strong enough…" I blinked as she said this. "If it weren't for me, if I could have just been a little stronger, maybe this wouldn't have happened and… and she wouldn't have died… The battle could have ended differently…"

"If the battle ended differently," I quickly started, "Then there would also be the possibility that we could have lost. If that human had to die in order for us to win then it doesn't really matter. We won, right?"

"But… Brago…" Sherry whimpered. "If I were _stronger_, we could have _won and_ saved that girl. She wouldn't be dead!"

"_Sherry_," I said in a short tone. "She's _dead_. It's _over_. Get _used_ to it." Even though I was saying this, I, for some strange, stupid reason, sympathized to what the blonde was feeling, as uncanny as it sounded.

The woman sobbed again and held onto me tighter, the strange sensation returned as she continued to cry, repeatedly saying that none of this would have happened if she had been more powerful. I sighed at this and forced myself to not do anything rash and turned myself around. Sherry was still holding onto me tightly as I faced her, her grip tightened and she nuzzled her face against my chest.

"It's just not fair!" she cried. "I know that I can get stronger, if it weren't for me losing my memory, none of this would have ever happened! Maybe I just wasn't strong enough then because I wasn't able to prevent myself from losing everything!" She then turned to look up at me, her azure eyes gleaming. "I don't want to lose you either! I want to make you happier so badly, though I know you hate me, Brago… I know you do! But I can't help it, I love you so much, I…"

"Quiet," I muttered, placing the tip of my forefinger upon her lips. I realized what I was doing and quickly removed it, though the woman still remained quite silent for a small moment, only before realizing what had happened herself. The tears started to stroll down her cheeks once again.

"But…" she protested before burying her face into my chest once again, I sighed. "Just want to make you happy is all," she murmured, holding onto me even tighter than before.

There wasn't much I could do in this situation… but as I stared down at her, the unusual feeling from before tugged my senses, it took a great amount of restraint to keep my breathing normal and prevent from becoming unsteady. However, along with the unidentified sensation also came the desire… It was back, stronger than ever. I had the urge to do something all of a sudden, a very powerful urge. I didn't like it, not one bit, but the feeling was strong, too strong. I feared I was giving in… Damn weakness!

"I wish I could remember," wept the woman profoundly, "I wish I could have my memories and personality back, I know you'd be a lot happier if that were to happen. Why can't it… why…?"

I closed my eyes while Sherry continued to whimper and sob, I forced myself to fight off the temptation that was screaming at me to take action. "You're tired," I said quietly. "You need your rest." After that, I led the woman out of the bathroom, trampling over her bloody dress and into the other room where the bed was so she could get some sleep. She would need it, especially after that battle… So I walked her over to the divan and laid her down, yet for some odd reason I went down with her as I let her fall, keeping my face close to hers, our faces barely touching. When I realized what I was doing and made to let go of her, she quickly sat up and grabbed my neck, tightening her grip while doing so.

"Brago," she whispered, her eyes wide, full of panic. I grit my teeth together tightly. "Don't leave me, please…! I don't want to be alone! I'm so sorry, I… I just want to remember!" Tears leaked down from her eyes down her cheek even more as she blinked, forcing the salty liquid down her face.

I stared at her oddly as her nose barely brushed up against mine, her breath tickling my face. I too blinked before turning away quickly, the woman whimpered again.

"Please," begged the woman as more tears trickled down her cheek. She sniffed again and continued to cry while I merely averted my attention back to her and then away for a split second, contemplating on a possible way to make her stop. "Brago, I just want to remember, the girl could have lived if I were stronger! Plus I know you would be happier if I were back to my old self," continued the blonde. "I just want to make you happier… I _need_ to be stronger!"

"Shut up," I murmured, keeping my gaze well away from hers. Don't push it, Sherry…

The woman's grip tightened even more and I could feel myself too becoming rather tense, if anything else happened I feared that I would do something regretful… I could feel her gaze upon mine as she continued, still with the crying. "But… Brago," she protested further, the pitch in her tone rising. "If I had all my memories back, I—"

Before she could continue, however, I quickly turned around with my eyes closed and immediately pressed my lips against hers, instantly forcing her to stop talking. Sherry stiffened upon my actions, most likely surprised (hell, _I _was surprised). However, as soon as I felt her just slightly relax, I quickly removed myself from her and turned away with my eyes still shut tight together. I didn't want to look at her, not one bit. After that… I had only done that to silence her, but that side of me with the desire had been screaming at me to do that for ages now…. I didn't know why, but I had finally listened to it for just this once. I had finally fallen to my weakness, to my desire…

I had fallen for Sherry.

I opened my eyes when I felt the woman rest her hand against my shoulder and I warily turned to look at her. Her azure eyes glittered with curiosity as she stared at me with a pondering look; though she had stopped crying, I could still see the formation of tears in the corner of her eyes. She began to move her hand up and she rested it against the side of my face, gently caressing my cheek. I could feel myself become rather heated as she stared at me intensely. At least her crying had quickly subsided…

"Brago…?" whispered Sherry faintly as she rubbed her thumb against my face, a little below my eye. The woman sat up on the bed and continued her actions. From the look in her eyes I could clearly see that she was disappointed about something, but what? I knew she wanted much more from me than what I had given her; she craved for something else.

I personally didn't know if I truly wanted it as well, but my desire was going on overdrive. Unfortunately, I felt myself begin to lose the remaining control I possessed. Yet again I was falling victim to my desire… to her…

Slowly and steadily my body began to move forward while I in van used every amount of restraint I had. Such useless tactics. Before I knew it, I was merely an inch away from the woman's lips. I hovered beside her for a moment, just staring at her while trying to read her thoughts and to force myself not to give in. There was a feeling of excitement welling up within the both of us as we breathed heavily, the heat of another's breath beating against each other's face. The sensation sent a tingling feeling down my spine.

I didn't want it, I completely, truly didn't want it, but I couldn't help myself, not when I was so damn weak in this pathetic situation. The next thing I knew I was gently brushing my lips against Sherry's, taking in her sweet taste all for myself. Sherry gasped between breaths as I slowly began to push her down onto the mattress, climbing over her frail body to get a better reach.

Never before had I felt this way, this… strange feeling of excitement, of power, the feeling of control and desire all at once. I hated it, I loathed it—it was sickening to experience. And here I had fallen victim to its overwhelming influence. Me, the great Brago of the Makai, of the black book, even _I_, whom had such amazing power, had fallen to its disgusting manipulation. I had just been turned weak by this unrecognizable _thing_.

When I kissed the woman softly she would return my actions with a devoted embrace, both of us equal in power in the game. But when I kissed her with a harsh fury she would try to return the embrace but fail, giving me full control over her as she completely submitted herself to me, allowing me to take possession of her as I caressed her lips with my own, my desire driving me all the way. And while I kissed her like this, I could almost _taste_ her very essence, such a strange yet unique feeling.

I felt as if I were going insane when the woman moaned, the vibrating sound was almost like the purring of a cat, I felt so aroused by this action that it started to drive me crazy. The noise was torture, it was taunting, coaxing, telling me to continue on. She was enlightening me, forcing me to carry out the game, forcing me to fill her craving need for more. It was so persuasive to listen to, how could I stop after hearing that overwhelming sound?

Sherry's skin was so delicate, it was hard to not bite it without making her squeal in pain or to not fulfill any or all of my longings. My teeth were too sharp to graze against her neck as the woman squirmed and gasped underneath me. So I stopped and kissed her again before leaving one last mark against her shoulder.

She moaned again, accepting my actions. I felt myself losing conscious of what I was doing; I felt that I had become so unrecognizable that nobody would see me for who I was, one of the most powerful demons of the Makai that was feared by many. I had lost all control and I feared there was no stopping this. Just by the soft touch of her hands delicately running through my messy hair would send my heart pounding and shivers down my back…. What had happened to me?

But then suddenly, after another minute of toying with one another, I heard Sherry gasp and then violently push me away from her, immediately ending the embrace we had. Her taste still lingered within my mouth and her scent within my nose; I savored both before taking a breath and then exhaling, breathing in the fresh air that did not contain her smell.

After that, I stared down at the woman before me as I wiped away my mouth with my hand and our eyes then met. The woman gasped again, her eyes wide in… in what I believe was shock.

"W-what the hell were you doing?" she cried, biting her lip slightly, her cobalt eyes wide in confusion. Confusion? Now _I_ was the confused one here, though I had to be immensely grateful to her for stopping our little game. If she hadn't, I feared that it could have gone on longer, harder—possibly to something I truly didn't want. Though with my incessantly growing desire, I was quite positive that it could have very well happened. I was now so utterly disgusted with myself for even thinking of the possibility, nonetheless having such an intimate embrace with a human.

I said nothing as something then caught my eye and I turned around to look and see what it was. Well, this was a surprise… My book, which had been thrown carelessly on the floor, was glowing as violently as ever; its radiance had even brightened the entire room. But if this was happening, then that meant…

"Answer me, Brago!" Sherry shoved me off of her yet again since I still happened to be on top of her. I was forced off of sitting on her waist and she then sat up and glared harshly at me when I remained silent. I stared at her blankly, not at all flinching when she shouted at me yet again to answer her. Yet still, I was silent. The woman decided to continue anyway, her eyes vibrantly shaking. "Tell me what's happening and why! I… I don't understand this! The last thing I recall is heading out somewhere and then being attacked by this demon, and then the next thing I now I'm here with you and we're… we're…"

After she spoke I did a double take, my eyes wide. Without realizing what I was doing, I rested my hands on the woman's shoulder and intently stared at her. "You remember?" I inquired, "You remember what happened?"

Almost immediately my bookkeeper slapped my hands away from her shoulder and then pushed me farther away from her yet again and she clenched her fists, staring at me with a hard frown. My brow deepened after her aggressive movement. I did _not_ like her pushing me around like that, but I maintained my composure and instead studied her expression. She was more pissed off and confused than _I_ was.

"Of course I remember!" she snapped angrily after a minute of staring at me blankly, her azure eyes pulled into a frown. "What do you take me for, Brago, an idiot? That's the last thing I remember before waking up with you here on top of me! And do tell, _what the hell_ was _that_ all about?" Her voice was strong and demanding, I froze in realization. I hadn't heard that tone since…

"Sherry?" I asked.

"What?" she immediately snapped back as she clenched her teeth. For a moment I was hesitant, but after musing to myself for a moment I continued. I just had to know…

"Sherry… do you remember who I am?"

I was sure that sounded like an idiotic thing to say, but if I was going to find out the truth then it had to be asked. Depending on her reply I would be able to determine what the hell was really going on. Sherry stared at me in bemusement for a moment, giving off an expression that clearly said, 'what _are_ you talking about?'

Blinking, Sherry then frowned even deeper and said, "Now what kind of question is _that_? You're the one who saved me from Koko and her damn mamono, and are one of the 100 participants in the war for the king of your world, the Makai. We've spent a lot of time together, fighting and training for battles. Why would I forget?"

I stared back at her. She had spoken with such emotion that spoke the truth, and at this, my eyes widened. For once, in one of the first and hopefully only times in my life, I was actually truly shocked.

Her memory and personality had been restored.

The original Sherry was back.


	23. No Longer the Same

_Hm, since y'all were so nice last chapter, i thought i'd be nice too and update this a little earlier than usual._

_Hey! Tis not the end of the story! Last chapter i had merely been referring to the end of the chapter... Not hte story._

_And on the contrary, i didn't feel weird in the least bit writing last chapter..._

_Well, anyway, speaking of the story, i've concluded that, from the way things are headed in this story, with it going to be about 30 chapters long and what i have planned in each chapter, it seems as though something's missing. So there is going to be a sequel after this story. It would just be too long if i had combined the two, so that's how it's gonna be._

_I just had to say that 'cause i KNOW i'd forget later on... >._

_Erm, right, anyway, enjoy the /wonderful/ chapter i am updatin'._

_Disclaimer: (sighs) After 23 chapters of this and (currently) 24 other stories of Gash Bell, many with more than one chapter, you'd think people would get the point by now?_

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**Chapter 23**

**No Longer the Same**

I stared, wide eyed, when the words of the woman's response reached my ears.

Her memory and personality had been restored.

The original Sherry was back.

"Damn it, Brago, what is going on?" snapped the now _original_ Sherry as she sat up on the bed. There was an angry fire within her eyes that I recalled seeing a couple of times in the past when I knew she was thinking about Zophise or something else. But now she had a whole new reason to be irritated: Me—though as if that hadn't ever happened before. Once when I had been trying to control her when we first met, she had this same exact expression, though that's a completely different story.

"I don't know," I said, putting an equal amount of irritation within my voice, though I was speaking the honest truth. I had no idea what had come over me to have such an intimate moment with her, but the desire was still there, I could feel it; I couldn't help but inwardly want more from her.

The blonde before me scoffed as she shook her head, right before somehow making her frown deepen even more. "Oh, of _course_ you don't! You still haven't answered my other question!" said the woman irritably, her voice dripping in sarcasm on the first sentence. "Tell me why!"

Well…

What was I to say?

…Not much.

"I said, I don't know why," I responded curtly, "Things got out of hand and…"

"And what? What was it you were trying to do to me, Brago?" asked Sherry, I could almost see tears coming to her eyes but she was holding them back. "What was it you planned on doing to me while I was unconscious, huh? Rape me, physically abuse me, do something that I have no idea what the hell is?"

I scowled. "It was nothing of the sort. You—"

"I what?" she snapped, still as angry as ever. "What is it I've done to you? Tell me! And tell me where I am, tell me what I've been doing since… since I passed out!"

Since she passed out.

Of course.

I'm such an _idiot_.

How could I forget? The whole friggin' _reason_ this all started in the first place was because I had found her unconscious out in the middle of nowhere. Now that the real Sherry was back, she should be able to tell me exactly what happened that night. I turned to look at her, both of us still scowling, and asked my question.

"First off, _Sherry_, you're going to tell me what exactly happened when that demon attacked you," I started, "before you woke up to this. You will tell me everything you remember so I can know who the hell did it."

The woman reddened in anger. I could tell she wanted to scream at me, to yell at me in all her frustration, maybe even _hit_ me. For a moment she was rather silent, most likely thinking of a way to insult me _and_ tell the truth. Or something else.

"I won't, I don't see how it could be of your concern," said the blonde angrily as she shook her head. I frowned. Sherry _would_ tell me whether she liked it or _not_, I was going to find out no matter what the case. Though even with this situation taking place and Sherry being so agitated with me, the desire from before was still there, coming back—I couldn't control it, it was slowly taking over me again.

"Tell me," I hissed.

"Give me a reason!" responded the other.

I growled before pushing the woman down onto the bed once more, pinning her hands flat on the mattress beneath us so to prevent her from moving efficiently. Sherry stared at me with wide eyes as I leaned in closer to her.

"You're going to tell me what happened, _now_," I said gruffly, forcing myself to try not to do anything else. My bookkeeper merely returned my gaze with yet another stiff frown after a moment and I growled yet again in irritation before I snapped, quickly leaning forwards to bite her neck and roughly kiss her down to her shoulder.

For a quick moment Sherry stopped struggling and gasped as she closed her eyes, tilting her head away, making her neck easier to get at, for a split second I almost wondered if she was _enjoying_ this. However, it was all before she realized what she was doing and stopped, only to begin resisting once more immediately afterwards, trying to make me stop, which I did (willingly, mind you) and she glared at me even harsher.

"I don't see how it matters, why should I tell you?" inquired Sherry angrily as she squirmed to get out of my grasp.

"Why shouldn't you?" I shot right back, tightening my grip around her wrists before continuing; there was no way she could break free, I was much stronger than her. "You're the one who got attacked, how could you go on without giving payback to the one responsible? You can't do that without me, I'm the only one who can assist you and I sure as hell want to know what's going on." I frowned again. "You _will_ tell me. There's no way I'm going to go on any longer without knowing what happened that night, I had to deal with you and you're lost memories for over a month and—"

"—Hold it!" interrupted Sherry and I paused. "A month? What the hell are you talking about? What's been going on exactly? How could I have been passed out for over a _month_?"

"Answer my question first," I snarled, slightly squeezing her wrists, making it a little more painful by the second. The woman squirmed again in response to my actions before somewhat giving up, turning her head away with a slight pained expression mixed with anger.

"I… I don't know!" she stated bluntly and I stared, she kept her gaze well away from mine for a moment as she continued. "All I can remember is getting attacked by this figure… I couldn't really see what they looked like. They were hidden from me so it was obscure… I can barely even remember that! All I recall is getting attacked while I was heading out of the mansion, so I ran to avoid them but they caught up with me easily. Once or twice I was even rammed into a tree or something as I dodged them, but they kept attacking me, wouldn't stop. But then this other demon arrived and said that I wasn't the target quite yet, I think, and then they all vanished. That's all I remember before I passed out, and then I wake up to find…"

A frustrated expression overwhelmed the woman's features as she trailed off and I stared at her blankly, not realizing that my grip had released just slightly. The woman took her hands back and held herself almost in a protective way as she started shaking. I watched as she still kept her gaze well away from mine for a moment and I let my own hands fall freely to my side.

So… Damn it. She couldn't remember who it was. This was so incredibly irritating beyond comprehension. How was I going to find out who caused this fiasco now?

After the small moment ended, my bookkeeper's head shot up and she glared at me once more. "All right, so now I've answered your question, now answer mine!" How could it have been a month already and _why_ were you on top of me?"

I stared at her silently, contemplating on what to say. Shaking my head slightly, I sighed once more and began to speak. "That night you were attacked, I later found you on the ground, unconscious and badly hurt. I took you back to the mansion and watched over you for a couple of days before you finally awoke. But you had no recollection of who I was, or yourself for that matter, and had a complete personality change, acting childish all the time. You were like this for over a month…."

As I told her the remainder of the story, leaving out a few certain incidents, namely her wish to spend the night with me and the now present moment, I watched her expression sadden when I also mentioned her little slave dying.

"Jii…" murmured the woman quietly. A moment of silence befell upon the two of us as she stared off to the side sadly. After a little while she sighed, only before turning to look at me again, her azure eyes staring at me sharply. "So, answer this, Brago," she muttered, "I have yet to hear your reply. Tell me why we were in that position earlier. Are you _ever_ going to answer me?"

At that, I turned away, not having a clue as what to tell her. No good ideas had come into my mind… Damn, this wasn't good. My desire was something to not really speak of with her, so how could I word this out?

"I take that as a no," said the other in a short tone, still staring at me in discontent. I turned my gaze to look upon her and couldn't help but feel that same overwhelming feeling of want from before. _Screw it—don't give in a third time!_

There was an awkward silence between the both of us, my bookkeeper merely continued to stare at me angrily, her sapphire eyes boring down onto me while I merely forced myself to stay in control.

"Get out," murmured Sherry quietly, I stared at her profoundly.

"What—"

"I said to get OUT!" said the woman as she sat up, raising the tone in her voice as she clenched her fists tightly. Her eyes were shaking and she was more pissed off than she had been five minutes ago.

Slowly I sat up and slid off the bed without a word, taking my cloak and book with me, which were on the floor. Currently I didn't trust her like this. There was no way I could. Although I knew she still needed me to free Koko from that other demon's grasp, I knew that humans did stupid things when they were frustrated. I wasn't going to take the chance with Sherry, although I knew that her old, no, _real_ self was stronger than that.

But right now the main problem was that I couldn't even trust myself. After having such an embrace with a _human_ of all things, something I had sworn I would never have, I needed to get out of there. When I took my sweet time in leaving, however, Sherry took one of the pillows from the bed and chucked it across the room, aiming to hit me in the head.

I merely blocked it away with my hand and closed the door, afterwards walking over to the other side of the room as I put my shirt back on. With one last sigh, I leaned against the wall and sat down on the carpeted floor, setting my book down to the side. It was still glowing, a bright light radiated off of it and I turned in the direction of Sherry's door. It remained closed.

Turning to look back at the book again, I shook my head.

What a damn eventful day this was. Pitiful. Just what I needed, really, to have Sherry's memory and personality restored, but right in the middle of our little… _moment_. It now wasn't a matter of trusting myself, but I couldn't even recognize who I was anymore. I had changed, turned completely different—all because of Sherry. I knew in the beginning that the change was there, but I had never anticipated it to come to this level.

…Nor had I expected for this to happen to Sherry: For this event to even occur in the first place, for it to change… the both of us? Not just myself? Who were we anymore?

As I stared down at my book, I couldn't help but turn the page and flip through the strange letterings that I could recognize until I landed upon a certain something that I stared blankly at for a small moment. I knew what it was. The letters were glowing brightly, brighter than the others, in fact. Though that would change after a day or two, the special glow would fade slightly and it would be just like all the other legible incantations.

Again, I sighed before I closed the book and leaned my head against the wall, closing my eyes. I needed to meditate. I needed to regain control over who I was, to understand my reasoning more, to recognize myself once again. At least the fifth spell had once again been regained.

_Dioga Gurabidon, you're mine once again._


	24. Contemplating: Recovery

_I HATE Reira's English voice. HATE IT! HATE IT!  
T-T And Victoream's, too, can't forget about him..._

…

…

_Hmm. Victoream curses a lot too, and has this particular favorite saying and i'm curious as to what they're gonna make him say in the English version..._

_Anyway, sorry for the short chapter, but it's a filler and i can't have things happening too quickly, y'know. n.n' The action will start up again soon, i promise._

_Disclaimer: I don't own this, otherwise it wouldn't be called FANfiction._

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**Chapter 24**

**Contemplating: Recovery**

From where I stood leaning against the wall halfway across the room, there was a faint murmuring sound. The sound slowly drifted from the doorway from my bookkeeper's room but I ignored it completely, keeping myself at a far distance from where the woman was located.

She was crying. I knew that she was. Only a couple of days had passed since the real Sherry had woken up once again and she had barely even left her room. Whenever she _did_ come out, though, she wouldn't even look at me—she acted as if I weren't even in the room. She would wander to wherever it was she came out for but then would eventually go back in her own space.

Though Sherry would come out of her room, I knew that she didn't have the courage to try and leave without me. For one, she still needed me for revenge as I needed her for the battle, and two, if she even _dared_ to try and leave she would have to deal with me first. No way in hell would I let her go so easily.

The soft murmuring of her tears drifted to my ear again and this time I allowed myself to turn my gaze upon her door. One thing again, she hadn't stopped crying, either. For the past two days that was all it truly seemed like she was doing.

I wasn't sure why she was like this, though I had a good idea as to why she hadn't been talking to me. She was still angry about the situation she had found herself in when her true self had finally awoken, she was still furious to know what had happened between us.

But then again, I was rather irritated with myself about that as well. I could not believe that I had done what I had done, to feel such… _desire_. What's worse was that I knew it was still there, I still craved for her, so I forced myself to meditate more so than usual to try and regain control over myself. It only helped just a little, but the urge to have her for myself was always going to be there, as I soon concluded. Not only that, but it was possible for it to grow even larger…

It was unfortunate but true. I feared that my want would never go away, and from the situation and the level of desire I was feeling now or what I would have in the future, I knew that it wouldn't. All because I was so _weak_, the old Sherry transformed me into something I had not intended to be, she gave me unnecessary flaws that would wreck who I was. Me, the great Brago of the Makai…

I was now so disgustingly _weak_!

Though I had to admit it, it was most likely my fault that I was like this. I allowed myself to feel for Sherry, I allowed myself to let the desire kick in—I _allowed_ the weakness to take hold of me.

Damn it.

Glancing to the side, I noticed the newspaper that was thrown to the side on the side table by the couch. I knew that Sherry had read it at some point; I had come out of meditation yesterday and saw my bookkeeper reading it. Only when she realized I was watching her that she went back into her room again without a word. Afterwards, I had taken a look at it myself and wasn't surprised to see what was on it.

Although I couldn't read any of what was written, merely because I didn't understand the language here, I had concluded what it was about, all because of the picture on the front cover. It was the girl from the night before, Hiebie's bookkeeper. Evidentially, the body was found sometime after we had left and nobody knew what had happened. I had no idea if they knew what caused her death, it was possible, but I had no idea. Sherry was the one who could read and understand German, not me.

I stared at the picture of the deceased woman on the front page of the newspaper. It still haunted me, those last words she had said before she died…

_"I wish I could be together with someone too…"_

What the hell did they mean? I had no idea what she was foreshadowing. My desire? Doubt it, but then again, I was never good with this kind of stuff.

But in any rate, whatever it meant, Sherry had to come out of her depressed state sooner or later. I had already been angry at how we were behind on what was going on in the war in the past, but if she were going to stall us even further then I had no idea what I was going to do. It was enraging, really. Not only did I desire her, but I desired many other things as well. And one of those was to win—I _had_ to win this war! I couldn't possibly accomplish this feat if I were behind on everything and _weak_.

I felt myself clenching my fists and I stopped only to stand up from sitting down on the ground and turning to look out the window. It was night, but I could still see the silhouettes of random humans walking up and down the street. There weren't many, but they were there. A few cars passed by as well and I turned away from the window.

To the side, the door to Sherry's room opened and my bookkeeper herself finally decided to look through. I caught a glimpse of her face before she turned away and walked into the kitchen. Tearstains were seen on her cheeks and her eyes were somewhat red. There was a gloomy air to her as she walked across the room, I silently watched her as she opened the refrigerator, taking out the milk jug only to pour herself a glass.

When she turned around, she stared at me blankly, not giving any signs of emotion. She just… stared. I stared right back and she didn't turn away. Sherry merely stood by the kitchen with the small glass of milk in hand, staring at me.

Finally, I couldn't take it, I snapped, "Are you _ever_ going to speak again?"

Still, she was quiet and I didn't push it further. She turned away and walked into her room again, closing the door behind her. I could hear a small _click_ and I knew that she had locked the door. Tch, I could open it if I wanted to, but I wouldn't, there was no need to. She would get over this and go back to her original self. Besides, I was still forcing myself to calm down as well.

As easy as it sounded, it wasn't, in fact, I felt myself constantly thinking about her. I didn't understand this strange sensation. It was just… there. Nor did I know what to do about it, but I just let it be as I continued to meditate.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes. Tomorrow, if she didn't say anything else, I'd just have to force it out of her.


	25. Get Up

_(twitch) They SO cut up that episode of Zatch Bell. . GRR. I'm not even gonna say anythin' else..._

_Well, anywho... That doesn't really help considering i'm already tired and have only had about 2-4 hours of sleep last night. (sigh) I should probably go to sleep soon but i really don't feel like it..._

_Eh, so i'm updating this. Enjoy the chapter!_

_Disclaimer: Not mine. Don'tcha know this already?_

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**Erased**

**Chapter 25**

**Get Up**

5:23 PM.

I stood bored by the window, staring tiredly out into the busy streets with my arms folded tightly across my chest. Here lately I had been doing this more often, as I noticed, just standing by the window, watching things go by…

It was _irritating_. There was _nothing_ to do and I was craving yet another battle. So the fight with Hiebie and her bookkeeper shook me up just a little, but I had come to the conclusion that it was merely because Sherry, the old Sherry, was feeling quite stressed at the time, so she had poured her emotions to me while I unwilling accepted them. Most likely it had happened through the book, as I've also noticed that it's not just a way to channel human emotion into the spells, but human emotion into the demon of the book as well.

That in itself was just strange. Why did I have to put up with Sherry's relentless emotions when I already had other problems to take care of? It was so incredibly annoying. My human had—

Crap

I wished that I could stop thinking of Sherry in a possessive way, now it was my own damned emotions that were pouring out and I didn't know what to do to control them. I was not _used _to feeling such things and I certainly didn't _want_ to be, either. She was changing, _had_ changed me, and I certainly didn't like it. It was never supposed to have happened!

My brow furrowed deep into a frown and I physically shook my head. Stupid emotions… So senseless and unneeded…

"Brago?"

My attention was suddenly redirected to behind me and I turned to look; Sherry was standing about 10 feet away, staring at me blankly. We were both silent for a good long moment before the woman turned her head down to look at the ground before glancing up at me again.

"I, uh…" she trailed off and I impatiently waited. If she were not willing to talk, I'd still force it out of her…

She sighed before deciding to discontinue what she was saying. I wondered if she would even dare to speak again, but before the woman did anything else, she shook her head and almost looked as if she were about to turn around and head somewhere else before I intervened.

"Sherry!" I snapped and the woman turned to look at me, her eyes somewhat blank, though I could still see a hint of what almost looked like unease. She took a small step back while I took one forward and I stared down at her harshly. "You haven't spoken in days," I said and she redirected her gaze. "Are you ever going to talk? We need to get back to fighting in the war. You can't just stay here mourning as you stall for frickin' time!"

I had raised my voice intentionally to get my message clear and across, it didn't bother me much when the woman put on a somewhat hurt expression. I sighed and shook my head, continuing before she could even bother to say a word.

If you want to get revenge on that other demon, you can't just stay here forever," I said angrily and the blonde stared at me vacantly. "You can't fulfill you damn promises if you're always in your room crying! Now get up and _do_ something!"

When Sherry _still_ persisted to remain silent, I growled before running up and ramming her into the wall, pinning her against it as I grasped onto her wrists tightly, not at all letting her have any control in this situation. I could feel my anger rising while the woman stayed quiet. Finally, before I could say anything else, she beat me to it.

"I… I want to do something, but…" she trailed off, avoiding looking at me in the eye. I stared at her even harder as her lower lip began to tremble slightly and I couldn't help but keep my eyes on it. _Don't_ give into temptation again…

"But what?" I inquired and she paused.

"I just… I don't know!" Sherry closed her eyes for a brief second and shook her head in protest. "After what… what happened… I just don't know what to do…" After that, she turned to look at me in the eye but quickly turned away again.

I leaned in closer, trying to control myself while I could, and said, "Well then, why don't you try and figure it out? You can't do anything when you're locked up all day."

"I know, but…" She stopped when I was a mere inch away from her, glaring at her harshly. Damn, it was hard enough to control myself in situations like this, I had to pull away while I could, but…

"_Sherry_," I hissed lowly, tightening my grip on her wrists to make her wake up a little, "Are you going to do something about it or _not_?"

"Brago, I…" My bookkeeper stared at me with wide eyes as I moved closer to her again. I hadn't truly realized I was so near her at the moment, my anger had blinded me for a second and then here I found myself about to…

The woman closed her eyes tightly before attempting to get out of my grip and push me off of her, I took this as a moment to back away from her since I, for some strange reason, found it hard to do so on my own. Backing up a couple of steps, I watched as the blonde slid down the wall and sunk to the floor, grasping onto her shoulders tightly as she began shaking.

"Tch," I started, "Get up."

"Brago, I…" She shook her head furiously and I watched her as she began to have her own mental argument with herself. It was pitiful, really, though I couldn't help but feel strange while I watched her as tears started to stroll down her cheeks once more. A frustrated expression overwhelmed her features as Sherry began to shake her head, constantly trying to say what was on her mind. "I don't, I don't, I don't know what, I… I…"

"Just spit it out already!" I yelled, clenching my own fists. "You've delayed us enough, now get a move on! Forget what happened before and get off your ass!"

"I—I don't know what to do!" proclaimed the other as her azure eyes bored into mine. "I wake up after such a long absence, and… and… And I found…!"

"I know what it is you found!" I angrily retorted back and my bookkeeper blinked, forcing more tears down her flushed face. "And I know what's been going on now, but what I _don't_ know is how all this started! Now you're going to get up and fight like you used to, don't act like a weakling, Sherry. That's _not_ how you're going to get your friend back!"

There was a slight pause and the woman stared at me blankly for another moment as more tears dripped down her face. Looking down, she gazed at the floor quietly as she took in what I said. After a minute, I saw her close her eyes as she sighed, more so sobbed, and brought her hands to her face.

"What is wrong with me?" murmured the ningen quietly as her body shook slightly. "I feel so frustrated… so confused… What am I to do, Brago?"

"You're going to get up like you used to do and fight," I responded in a quieter tone, Sherry seemed to take that as an answer, or at least that's what I assumed. She removed her hands from her face and pressed them onto the ground to support herself as she looked up at me through confused watery eyes.

"I…" she trailed off, almost as if she weren't really aware of what she was saying. With that, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them to look at me again. She was silent but stood up and looked at me in the eye. In the tense moment, Sherry glanced to the other side of the room and I turned in the direction she glimpsed over at as well.

5:32 PM

"I want to get stronger," she said quietly after a moment, "To become the strongest, so that way I can free Koko from Zophise's grasp. I want to get our happiness back, I want to, I have to!" Sherry's hands began to tremble but she turned them into tight fists, her shoulders began to shake as she continued. "I want to do what's right in this battle! I want to do so many things, but I just…"

My bookkeeper shook her head, her blonde bangs shielding her eyes as she closed them and turned her head towards the ground. I said nothing but watched as she slowly began to shake her head and she then suddenly turned to look up at me.

"I—I'll continue fighting!" she said, tears rolling down her face. "The other teams are going to be beaten, Koko will be freed! I'll know who did this as well!" Still, I was silent, but I continued to watch as she somewhat began to calm down and she sighed once more before turning to look up at me. "I'll fight with the black book…"

At that, I couldn't help but smirk just a little, but I quickly wiped away the expression. So, she had finally overcome her mental obstacle. Now why couldn't I conquer mine? At least she was no longer as depressed as before, she would start to fight again.

"You done yet?" I asked dully and the woman nodded her head. "Good. We're leaving tonight, so get ready."

I turned away, though with my back to the blonde I could just barely hear her mutter about having to depart so soon. Quickly, I turned around and to glare at her and shoot off a sadistic smirk.

"Just call it… _Punishment_ for the month of hell you gave me."


	26. Power Battle

_Copy and paste can be your best friend. :3_

_You know, sometimes i wonder what would happen if someone came on this site and found that people were writing stories about their work. I wonder what they'd think... Heh, i think one day i'm gonna do that: Make my own cartoon/comic, publish it, and see what people write about it. :3 Muwahaha..._

_o.o' Anyway, i believe most of y'all are going to recognize this fight. n.n I tried to make it just /slightly/ different in certain bits so it wasn't exactly how it was in the episode. But, even if the fight bores you, you will still want to see what happens at the end (OF THE CHAPTER)._

_Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: This isn't owned by me! Only a genius could come up with Konjiki no Gash Bell and i'm certainly not one!_

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**Erased**

**Chapter 26**

**Power Battle**

A couple of weeks had passed since Sherry finally started talking again. Although I hated to admit it, it was good to know that she was speaking to me once more, though she was still rather depressed. After observing her for a while, I wondered if she was truly up to fighting again.

Well, she had better be, because if it turned out that she wasn't, I'd have to deal with her in my _own_ way…. Not to mention I'd be as pissed as hell, that's for sure. But we hadn't come across any other teams yet so I couldn't make a real good assumption about her right away; we were merely searching across the globe like we used to do to find the other participants in the war.

Was it just me, or had the other teams gotten strong enough so that it would be harder to sense them?

Tch, as if I couldn't take them on, however, in order to be king, I'd have to be able to. Nobody should be able to defeat me if I'm going to be the future ruler of the Makai.

Sherry and I had resolved back to camping out quite often in order to find the enemies. I remembered doing this quite often in the beginning of the war… At one point she had even fainted while pushing herself over her human limits.

Anyhow, we were out again today in search for the next team to defeat. This time was different, however, I could sense some other beings around where we were… They didn't seem that strong, either. But something was… odd about them… Nonetheless, I knew that it would be just a bunch of weaklings, most likely teaming up together since they knew that they didn't stand a chance in one-on-one fights.

And from what I saw when I did find them, it turned out that my assumptions were right. Sherry and I were far away form Germany at this point, but we weren't too far. I didn't remember the name of the place, but the weather was hot and there was dead grass everywhere. On random occasions, I'd see wild animals in what humans would call 'camp reserves', or something of the sort.

We came across the team literally out in the middle of nowhere. Some ways off was a town with the hotel that Sherry and I were staying at, but we had decided to walk out to search for the enemies that I could sense nearby.

I walked about a foot in front of Sherry with my hands shoved in my pockets, just musing to myself about the past few weeks when I halted in my tracks and noticed something peculiar in front of me. Sherry stopped as well and glanced over in the direction I was staring at and I smirked at the realization of what it was.

Three large mamono were huddled around in a group staring directly at me as well with their bookkeepers by their side. Next to them, I could spot two other demons, one of which looked like an oversized frog and the other what a human would call a clown. The group of freaks was staring over in our direction and there was a long pause.

Finally, I smirked. "Look what we've found, Sherry."

Behind me, I could sense that the woman was hesitating to say something, but as I turned around, I saw her nod her head slightly, a certain glint in her eyes that I hadn't seen in a while. "It would appear that they can't handle one-on-one fights, ne?"

I turned back around to face the other team, I could clearly see them chatting amongst themselves about something, though I couldn't quite tell what since I was a little too far away to hear their conversation.

"Hn, it doesn't matter how many there are," I said, "I can defeat them."

"Brago…" I turned around to face Sherry once more when she called out my name. She paused again, but then spoke up with a slight frown, a glint of determination within her eyes. "I'm going to help you this time! I _will_ do better than what I've done in the past!"

For a small second I thought about this. Sherry wanted to help me, but I had been craving another fight for a while now. And since I wasn't too sure if she was still up to fighting or not, I didn't know if it was the right thing for her or not. I had to say it, but I knew she was _still_ recovering from what happened to us.

_She takes too damn long._

"No," I responded slowly after a moment, turning away from her. "You're not going to fight. These idiots are trash, anyway. I can handle it on my own."

"But Brago…"

"No," I repeated firmly, turning to glance over in her direction for a second before I began to walk the other way. "You stay where you are and watch."

Well, that was easy enough.

As I began to head towards the other team, I noticed how they were all staring at me as if I were a deranged fool. One of them, the frog thing, called out to me in an arrogant manner.

"Hey, you mamono! Have you said your prayers yet?" he said as he hopped about on his feet, standing on one of the larger demons. "You don't know who you're dealing with, so give up while you still can!" I scowled in his direction. His squeaky voice was incredibly annoying… I'd shut his mouth up fairly quickly.

"You're the one who should be giving up, you can't beat me at your level!" I retorted back, scowling in their direction. I could sense their power—it was so incredibly weak. Nothing like Hiebie's, so there was nothing to worry about, not that I was going to.

To the side, a few vultures flew off in a different direction and began to hover around in circles in the sky. I ignored them and their annoying calls and stared strait at the other team as I continued walking forward again. As I came in view, I noticed how only three of them had their bookkeepers with them at the present moment. The one with wings, another that was red and taller than the rest, and at last the one that had a large turtle shell on its back, of which the annoying frog demon was standing on.

They began muttering to themselves as they kept their eyes on me, I saw the clown demon fly back behind them. Tch, afraid now, are we? Right after that, the frog demon was pushed off the other's back and they talked for a small second until I was close enough to hear what they were saying. So, the three think they can take me on without the other two… Hn.

Suddenly, one of the demons, the taller one that was red, lunged towards me with a strange sword he had pulled out of his arm. The other two followed in suit and I smirked, completely ready for battle. To the side, I could hear a spell being called out.

"_Gashirudo!"_

I looked up as the demon with the sword jumped up into the air, afterwards bringing his ridiculously sized sword down with him. With ease, I jumped back and began avoiding the onslaught of attacks he began to throw at me, constantly swinging his sword aimlessly this way and that. These guys were weaker than what I had thought…

Eventually, I got bored of dodging so I quickly jumped up and kicked the other in the face, hard enough to send him back a few feet, which happened. The big guy didn't even get up quick enough, and as I watched him struggle I then felt a strange sensation welling up within me and I glanced to my hands.

Such power… I felt stronger than I had in such a long time… How did I not notice becoming weaker when the whiny Sherry was around? Did I really lose that much strength?

Suddenly another spell was called out and I quickly snapped back to my senses as the demon with the shell hurtled at me in a ball-like form. I scowled and quickly jumped out of the way, but the stupid creature just came right back towards my direction.

"Stupid," I muttered and kicked the creature, causing him to fly up into the air uncontrollably and I jumped to where he was and grabbed him with my bare hands, stopping his rolling movement, and threw him in a different direction. "Give me a _real_ spell!" I snarled as I watched him fly across the field.

"Heh, I don't need spells to take _you_ on!" called the bird-like demon to the side, and I glanced over at him quickly. I then noticed the large talons on his feet and it didn't take much to duck and dodge them while he swung them down upon me. I could hear him utter a curse as I jumped to the side, watching him and the others as they glared daggers at me. What fools.

However… I couldn't believe that I had lost my strength… How could I have never noticed it before? It was so strange, suddenly I felt so incredibly powerful. Well, this would all explain why I felt I was having much more difficulty fighting in the past month, especially with Furigaro—it wasn't just because I had lost spells. I had returned back to the level I was at before Sherry lost her personality and memories…

I just realized that I too had been affected by her loss.

The fight went on. I continuously dodged all of the opponent's measly attacks, loving the amount of power coursing through my veins that I had regained. Every so often, I would glance over at Sherry, who was watching with full interest and attention. Good, she wasn't dozing off.

After a couple of attempts at trying to capture me, it almost appeared as if the other team was giving up. They had thrown attack after attack in my direction but I dodged them all. They gaped at me in surprise when I also managed to destroy the taller demon's sword and the shell demon's chains. I smirked in victory but my eyes widened at their next choice of actions.

An identical strange jewel appeared on each of the three demons, either on their chest or forehead. At first, I wondered what the heck this was about, but then I heard one of them call out to the others.

"All right! Tsuvai, Torowa, let's do this spell!"

"Got it, Fausuto!"

The big red demon, now identified as Fausuto, called out to the other two—the demon with the shell, Tsuvai, and the other winged one, Torowa. They all nodded in unison before their bookkeepers all called out a spell at once.

"_Laudo!"_

The jewels on each of the demon's bodies started to glow and I turned around to stare at the strange action, but suddenly I felt as if a strange force was pressing down on me, almost like my gravity attacks except a little… different. It became harder to breathe as pressure was pounding on my chest, but I managed, and as I was sent to my knees because of the strange, invisible attack, I looked up and noticed that I was now surrounded in a strange black dome of this… _power_.

All around me, the ground started to tremble. Fragmented bits of earth were starting to rise and hover in the air from the pressure surrounding me, I watched, as the whole field that the dome surrounded became a complete wreck.

To the side, I could see Sherry starting to run forward, apparently calling out to me. Yet for some strange reason, no sound was emitted when I saw her mouth move. Her expression was confused and she was darting towards where I was as fast as she could. _Idiot_, didn't I tell her to stay behind?

I turned my attention away from Sherry as I stared at the crumbling ground around me and I decided to test something out as soon as it calmed down just a little. Grabbing a random piece of rock nearby, I squeezed hard until it shattered and I blinked.

I couldn't hear anything. This dome had no sound!

Suddenly I growled in pain as a sharp object pierced me in the back. I was sent flying to the side and I landed on my stomach, afterwards turning around to look in the direction of the attack. Kuso, if there was no sound, then I wouldn't be able to decipher where things were coming from. Dammit!

I could see the demon Tsuvai walking up inside the dome and I growled as I stood up. To the right, I noticed Fausuto enter the silent dome as well and I growled when I saw him launch a few attacks at me. I dodged them with ease, though it came as a surprise when I was hit again in the back. Once more, I was thrown away to the side and I glanced over to where the attack had come from, only to see Torowa there.

He flew in with a smirk as he stared down at me, flapping his wings to keep him hovering in the air. It almost appeared as if he was talking to me, but I couldn't make out what he was saying, the dome prevented this.

I growled again as Tsuvai's chains hit me in the back again, afterwards wrapping around my legs to prevent any motion. I glanced up to where the other two were and watched as they sent a rally of attacks on me. I wasn't able to dodge them.

They were painful but I held my breath this time, the throbbing pain soon passed, though I knew that this was going nowhere. What was unexpected was when Torowa's attention was averted to something else and he flew away from where I was, I looked over as well and saw Sherry trying to dodge the attacks thrown out at her. She fell over and I yelled out her name, not really thinking about her being unable to hear me.

I growled a curse before struggling to pull off the chains around my legs in order to get to my bookkeeper. Finally, after a moment, I managed to free myself just in time to protect her from being stomped on by Fausuto as I punched him away from her.

As he was knocked down, Sherry turned to look at me and nodded in gratitude. I jumped by her side and she tried to speak to me, but then she finally realized the effect of the dome and I couldn't help but smirk, though I knew this was nothing to laugh about. If we couldn't hear, we couldn't do as much as we wished. But now with my spells at the ready, I knew I'd win.

I was wrong about Sherry—she _was_ willing to fight again. When she was speaking to me earlier, she had been telling the truth. She would fight once more, right by my side.

…I sounded like a frickin' poet.

Both Sherry and I turned to each other and nodded our heads in acknowledgement before facing our opponents. Although I couldn't hear it, I knew that my bookkeeper had called out my first spell—the energy was gathering in my palm and I sent the hurtling ball of gravity towards Torowa, next my Giganoreisu at Tsuvai who was also thrown backwards.

Though my back was turned to Sherry and I couldn't hear any sound, I could sense much power gathering up within her, I could feel her emotion as she poured out her energy into the next spell…

_Dioga Gurabidon._

The incantation that I had at long last regained was gathering in my hands as streaks of different colors formed together and shot towards the rest of the group, hitting not just Fausuto, but the remainder of the three as well, knocking them away from us and creating a large crater at the same time. I knew that the result of the attack ended up burning the demons' books.

We had won.

My Dioga Gurabidon vanished in a cloud of color and I turned around, only to see that the dome was gone and that two of the other demons, the clown and annoying frog, were fleeing. The cowards…

Redirecting my attention to Sherry, I noticed that she was breathing somewhat hard and was staring at me intently; I turned my gaze away from her.

"I thought I told you to stay back?" I said lowly, glancing over to the side as I watched the blue flames eat away at the covers of the others' books.

Sherry sighed heavily as she glanced around as well, there was a strange sensation within me as she clutched onto my book tightly, I ignored it as it passed and she turned her azure eyes in my direction again.

"Brago," She said my name tenderly, I hated how it sounded. Her eyes wavered between staring at the ground and myself as she spoke, "I… I may be disappointed about what happened between us…. But I'll still fight." I turned to look in her direction and I noticed that strange gleam in her eye. That went ignored, too. "I promise you that I'll fight strong and hard, I won't give up."

After hearing her little words of encouragement to herself, I allowed myself to smirk, but then something caught my eye and my expression vanished. One of the demons, the large red one, Fausuto, had slowly started to move as he regained consciousness. He looked around and noticed that his book was on fire with his bookkeeper lying on the ground, blacked out.

"Damn," he muttered before resting his head back onto the ground. "I should have figured." The mamono turned his gaze upon me and just stared in our direction before he lifted a finger and pointed at us. "You…"

Lazily, I walked over to where he lay and stared down at him uninterestedly. "What do you want? Defeat not enough?"

"No… that's not it," he said dully. "I just noticed, but… You look familiar."

I blinked. "Point is?"

He chuckled lowly before glancing in my bookkeeper's direction and he returned his attention to myself. My eyes widened at his next words.

"Are you by any chance the demon whose bookkeeper had her memories erased?"


	27. True or False?

_I don't particularly like this chapter... It feels as if it's missing something. x-x And i know y'all aren't gonna like it, or maybe you will, i don't know, i'm not whoever's reading this. xD_

_But then again, because of this chapter and how many are left, that's the main reason WHY there's gonna be a sequel. Anyway, uh, read, review, and enjoy?_

_Disclaimer: This has never been mine, never will, but i own my creativity so leave me alone._

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**Erased**

**Chapter 27**

**True or False?**

Fausuto chuckled lowly as he glanced over in my bookkeeper's direction and then to mine, I was stunned when he asked the next question.

"Are you by any chance the demon whose bookkeeper had her memories erased?"

I fell silent as Sherry did too, we both started at him blankly for a moment until the realization that his book was burning dawned on me and I quickly snapped out of my trance and back to reality. My expression turned into a deep frown.

"How do you know about that?" I questioned. To the side, Sherry woke up from her own spell as well and I watched as she slowly strode up closer to where I stood by the disappearing demon on the ground, yet she remained silent.

The large red mamono before me only sighed for a quick second before he spoke, his voice almost echoing now as he slowly began to dissolve back to our world. "I don't know much, but I do remember a couple of millennium demons had journeyed on their own for something. Stupid Byonko went after them to tell them to come back, but turns out that they were traitors. When they came back, I remember them talking about a demon such as you and his bookkeeper. Don't really know what happened, perhaps Lord became upset, and…"

I stared and glanced to the side where Fausuto's book was burning, his now soon to be ex-bookkeeper lying unconscious on the ground. Around the corner, I saw Torowa's book disappear along with the demon. This meant that Fausuto didn't have much time left as I saw the other demon's book slowly disappearing, the blue flame quickly eating away at its cover.

"Who did this to her then!" I shouted in the direction of the demon lying on the ground, he merely stared back at me with his yellow-green eyes. "Tell me who did it, _now_!"

"Heh, heh, heh… You're never going to find them, even if I did tell you," he said dryly, turning his head away from my gaze. "His book was burned."

_His book was burned._

I stared, wide eyed as soon as those words reached my ears. To the side, Sherry looked just as perplexed as I felt. His book was burned… his book was burned… No, his book couldn't have been burned! _I_ hadn't burnt it yet—this was a lie, all a lie, dammit!

"Stop joking with me!" I snarled as I clenched my fists tighter. "Tell the truth, you!"

"I already did," he said, now only a couple of inches of his book remained. Fausuto had become transparent a long time ago and I could barely see his expression due to the light from him disappearing being in the way. "You're never going to find the culprit."

"I will, you just wait and see!" I hissed. "Now tell me more or I'll shred your face to pieces!"

"Too late, I'm gone," Fausuto chuckled lowly, I watched as the flame on the book ate away the very last bit, I growled in frustration and aimed to punch him in the face before he left, but my fist collided in the dirt instead. Fausuto had been sent back to the Makai.

I yelled at the space where the demon had previously laid, punching the air around me and then at the ground, leaving a small crater where my fist collided with the dirt, I stood there, my hand still curled up in a tight ball. To the side, Sherry dropped to her knees and stared at the ground, shocked.

"His book was burned…?" she mumbled out loud in a quiet voice. "Then that means…"

"No, Sherry!" I responded quickly, "His book was _not_ burned! _I_ haven't burned it yet, I haven't even beaten that bastard's face to a pulp!"

Sherry looked up at me with a hollow look and I growled, standing up strait and clenching my fist even tighter. I didn't really care when I felt a piercing sensation on my palm as blood slowly started to trickle down on my hand from where the skin was cut by my claw-like nails.

The woman continued to gaze at me blankly and I turned my head around to look at her though I couldn't do this for long. So I glanced away, turning to look in the other direction. I let my hand unfold and I watched as the crimson liquid in my palm drop down and I hissed again.

"Didn't even get a chance to look at him," I muttered lowly, still watching my blood trickle down my palm. "After coming all this way, after putting up with this damn chaos, all for nothing. It can't be true, I don't believe it!"

"Brago?"

"What?"

Turning around, I watched as Sherry sighed and glanced to the ground, fiddling with her thumbs somewhat, afterwards looking up at me once again. "I don't… I don't think it's the truth," she said quietly while I remained silent. "How would that demon know?"

"How the hell should I know?" I spat lowly, "Demons have their ways."

"But what I mean is that there's got to be someone else out there responsible for this!"

"I _know_ that, Sherry," I argued, "They're back in the demon world!"

"Brago…" The woman sighed before she stood u and walked right in front of m, she didn't even remove eye contact at all as she stood where I was, clutching onto my book tightly. "That demon said there was more than one responsible for my situation, so I'm quite sure that there are others still out there who know about it. Like this 'Lord' character."

"There is no _Lord_ in this battle, Sherry," I said angrily. "He's not in this fight."

Sherry blinked. "Then… Who could it be?" she questioned. "There isn't anyone else that I could think of, and honestly, right now I don't know _who_ to think of!"

I sighed lowly, shaking my head. To the side, I glanced to where the three demons used to lay ad where the ashes of their books remained, some of the bits started to drift away with the slight wind that was blowing. Around us in a circle lay their bookkeepers, blissfully unaware of their surroundings.

After that, I pointed to the three unconscious men. "You see those humans? Their minds were controlled." Sherry blinked yet again.

"How can that be?" the woman inquired slowly. "The only one that I know of that could do that is…"

"Precisely."

The blonde's eyes widened and she stared at me blankly, taking in what I said. "That can't be…." she whispered. "Zophise? _He's_ the one responsible for this?"

"The only one that I know of," I retorted, "It's too obvious, Sherry, there's no one else who could do this." I shook my head, afterwards turning to look up at the sky. A thunderstorm was arriving and I could feel the small bits of rain that were starting to fall beat against my face, I closed my eyes with a sigh.

Sherry was quiet, I knew for her that this was a shock to take in. Ever since the beginning of the battle, she hated that creature that had taken hold of her friend. And now that she realized there were more victims… Well, I was positive she was even more furious than before.

"But you're right, Sherry," I spoke after a minute. The rain was starting to pour down just a little harder now. "There's probably some other demon out there and they're the ones responsible."

Knowing this, I knew that I had to discover who it was—I had to figure this problem out and solve this dilemma. I'd get revenge for whoever did this to Sherry and I…

"Yeah," agreed Sherry quietly. "Do you… think that Zophise was the one who started this?"

I was silent for moment as I pondered over her question. "…I don't know," I answered slowly. "It's possible, but we're just going to have to ask him ourselves, now aren't we?" When Sherry didn't answer I decided to continue. "In the meanwhile, if it is him, we're going to have to train harder than before. He'll be our toughest opponent yet."

"I know," spoke the woman quietly. She averted her gaze to the ground. "But whoever did this… I know that there's got to be someone else behind it. There has to be, it can't all be over!" I turned my own attention to the woman and noticed the determined look in her eyes. Yet… She still had that gloomy air to her, a saddened expression was hidden somewhere, but I couldn't find it. It wasn't quite distinct, but I knew it existed.

Shaking the thought off, I decided that it was time to leave, the rain was getting heavier now and thunder started to boom off in the distance.

"Well… come on," I said, "We should get out of here."

"But what about the humans?" my bookkeeper questioned, "We should do something about them!"

I sighed, "Fine, do what you want."

"They'll be waking up soon," responded Sherry, "Let's just wait a few until they come to, then we can lead them back to the reserve."

"Whatever," I muttered and began to walk around, stopping once I was by Sherry to stare at her in the eye. I was about her height now. We were silent, but Sherry nodded her head solemnly as she sat down on a small rock that hadn't been destroyed and she flattened out her dress.

Even though we weren't aware of who had done this to Sherry, I knew that we would still continue fighting, even if we were put up against Zophise this very second. We would fight and we would win, because we were the ultimate team.


	28. Millennium Mamono

_Am TERRIBLY sorry for the long update. But now that high school is in session, i will not be working on my stories as much as i'd like to. So sorry. But i should be able to update on weekends mostly... And on my spare time on weekdays i'll try and write chapters, and then occasionally post more up if i have the time and one that's actually complete._

_So anywho. I've noticed that most of the people i know that watch anime absolutely HATE Zatch Bell. I mean, it's not THAT bad, is it? Sure i like the Japanese version better but it WAS the dub that got me started... And then how can one shoot down the original if they haven't even SEEN it? Meh._

_Oh, and a small **warning**. There WILL be some **spoilers** in this chapter about the talk Sherry and Brago have with Nazo Nazo Hakase (Doctor Riddles--i will be referring to him by his Jap. name, along with others) and Kid. But i edited the conversation a tad bit and such so i don't think it's too bad._

_Disclaimer: There are 28 chapters to this so far and about 23 other Gash/Zatch Bell stories, some with chapters, and you still don't get the point?_

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Erased

**Chapter 28**

**Millennium Mamono**

Sherry and I immediately began traveling along the globe again after the incident with Fausuto and the others. I still couldn't believe what he had told us, about the one who erased Sherry's memories. There was no way in hell that demon's book had been burned. He was lying—I knew he was.

So anyhow, we ended up traveling in a place that I believed humans knew as the Andes Mountains in South America. The mountains were tall and rugged. Sometimes the woman and I would come across a few cliffs and have to find a different route to take as we wandered around the area, looking down below some areas I could see more vast groups of rocks, cliffs, and more sections of the mountains that looked more like hills.

As the woman and I clambered up another hill, I suddenly heard a call of what sounded like a mamono spell. I turned my head around and saw a large red beam quickly spiraling in our direction. I got myself ready for the assault and ordered Sherry to cast a spell.

"_Giganoreisu!"_

The mountains almost seemed to glow when the two spells were about to collide, but then the next thing that I knew was that the opponent's attack was redirected to fly over my Giganoreisu. Now it had a new course, though heading to the same end point, right up in the air, charging down upon where Sherry and I stood.

Since there was no more time to call out another spell and it would be completely meaningless to do at this point, I stepped forward and punched away the attack, ignoring the slight tingling sensation upon my curled up fist as a small bit of steam rose up. Looking around after the attack was shattered, I glanced up and was able to identify the location of the enemy.

Standing upon one of the cliffs on the mountain was exactly what I had expected, a mamono and human partner. Even with the distance between us, I could easily distinguish which was the demon of the two due to the bright orange and yellow colors on its facial design and how he was hovering in the air.

"Hey, you!" called out the demon angrily, pointing his finger at me. "How could you defeat my attack like that?"

I grumbled lowly to myself. "This guy's not serious enough."

Sherry strode up next to me, clutching onto my book tightly as it slowly started to shine. She nodded her head just slightly but remained quiet, I turned to look up at the other team again with a small frown.

I could just barely hear the other demon mutter something to himself, but then the next thing I knew he had ordered his human counterpart to cast another spell and the orange headed demon slammed his hands into the ground. Red cracks suddenly appeared everywhere around where we stood, I stared at it, sensing energy gathering up from underneath the ground.

Suddenly, just as I had expected again, red beams, similar to the previous attack, shot out from the ground and high into the sky. The other demon started to laugh like a maniac, telling me that I couldn't win this fight. I sighed. This was such a simple spell. I had seen better. Stupid Gash Bell could produce a better lighting spell, even at his weak state that I saw him in last.

"Brago…" I turned around to face Sherry as she called out my name, she had a strange look in her eye as she clutched onto my book tightly. "You go, I'll prove myself again right here."

I smirked. "You better," I said and began to run forward, avoiding all of the falling red beams as they crashed into the ground. Afterwards, I began to jump up onto different rocks and ledges sticking out on the cliff, slowly making my way up to the top where the other team stood. Behind me, I could see Sherry dodging all of the attacks gracefully as she twirled about, almost dancing, as she avoided each and every one of the beams that came her way.

I knew she wouldn't fail.

When I reached the top, the other demon gasped in surprise when he saw my bookkeeper's actions, not at all realizing that I was there. "Wha… how could that human dodge my attack? It's impossible!" he shrieked, staring with wide eyes. I smirked as I raised my hand, palm facing the opponent.

"Well," I began, and the other demon jumped backwards in surprise. "You could say she's improved, unlike others I know."

The demon screamed as Sherry suddenly called out my Dioga Gurabidon, I jumped back in the air as I sent the large attack right in the other team's faces. The force of the resulting explosion caused the other team's book to fly out of the human's hands, while the human himself was sent hurtling in the air. I caught him as I was sent backwards to the ground, doing a back flip as I landed next to Sherry, whom had turned around.

A sudden gust of wind from the collapse of the cliff was sent charging our way and I slightly closed my eyes to prevent any dust from getting in, it blew my cape and Sherry's dress while right on cue, the other team's book landed beside us, an orange flam eating away at its cover.

Well, that was easy.

However, it was then that I noticed Sherry had averted her attention to something else and I turned to look too. Off to the side, there was yet another team hiding behind the rocks, poking their heads out so that was all that could be seen. The two quickly noticed us staring in their direction and abruptly hopped out from their hiding spot, holding onto a bunch of white flags, screaming 'We surrender!' And just from the distance we were at, I could already tell that the human of the group had a horrendously gigantic nose.

I stared at them with a blank look. "Who _are_ these idiots?"

"I don't know," murmured Sherry quietly as she gripped onto my book. "But from the looks of it, they don't want to fight." She turned to look at me, her expression pulled into a serious frown.

I scoffed as I turned my head away. "You know _why_ they don't want to, they're weaklings."

"Yes, but…" The woman redirected her attention to in front of her again where the other team was still jumping about and started to walk forward, stepping over the remaining ashes of the previously burnt book. "Let's at least see what they want first."

Great, now we had to do some sort of stupid discussion with the enemy? Sherry should know better! But still, here lately all of our opponents were quite interesting; the last ones even had valuable information. Perhaps these two idiots did too?

Getting a better hold on the human I was still holding onto, I too began to trudge forward, not quite sure what to expect from these buffoons before us.

-o-o-o-o-o-

"You… want us to join forces with you?"

Sherry gave the other two a slightly bemused look as she took a sip of the tea she was drinking. We had resorted in going back to the hotel that we were staying at to have our talk with the other team, right after dropping off that knocked out human from the previous battle… turns out his mind was controlled too. The fireplace had a decent flame lit up and the room was warm. My bookkeeper sat on a couch in front of the other team, with the demon perched upon the other human's shoulder. They sat parallel to her on a different couch with a brown coffee table separating them.

My hands were shoved in my pockets as I listened in on the conversation. From listening to them, I learned that the old human's name was Nazo Nazo Hakase (whose nose, I soon discovered, was even larger than I had imagined—it was at _least_ half the size of his face), which I found strange. So he was a 'riddle professor', eh? Stupid. What kind of dumb name was that? Although I found that his tiny demon companion's name was even worse. _Kid_? These really were a bunch of idiots, especially with their proposition.

"That's right," confirmed the elder man as he nodded his head, his long gray strands of hair wavering just slightly. His hat was off and in his lap, as the demon's was too. "In order to deal with the thousand year old demons that have been attacking many of the current fighters, all of which are controlled by Lord, we really need your—"

"—I'm not helping," I quickly interrupted as I turned around, crossing my arms together in front of my chest. "Why should I cooperate with you?" I asked as I slightly turned my head around to see the others' surprised faces. "I don't want to help you useless idiots, it would be a waste of time. Go find someone else to help you, if you don't have enough already." With that, I turned around and walked towards the window on the other side of the room, leaning my back against the wall as I continued to watch the others.

This was stupid, really, why _did_ I need to help these losers? If they had problems fending for themselves, then they shouldn't even be in this battle. I was doing just fine, even after the incident with Hiebie—a normal demon at that. Although I had to admit, if these millennium mamono were as powerful as this old man said, then I couldn't help but want to battle more. The Silent Rulers were too easy for me, and even though the demon from earlier was one as well, he was still weak. I wanted to see if others could fight better.

Well, apparently there were over 40 of these demons running free in the human world, as this Lord character had set them loose. 'Lord', eh? Didn't Sherry and I conclude that it was merely Zophise in disguise?

"But…" protested the professor as he stood up. "Lord has numerous demons under his command, we have to work together to defeat them!" He turned around to face my bookkeeper, a slight look of hope in his eyes. "You can agree with that, right?"

The woman took another sip of her tea. Afterwards she sighed and shook her head, turning her azure eyes up to the man and his demon. "I'm sorry, please reconsider."

"But how can you—?"

"However," started Sherry, ignoring Nazo Nazo Hakase's protests as she stood up, holding her dress up just slightly. "I appreciate the information regarding Lord. But please understand that he is my old enemy and to defeat him, I don't need, or want, any help from you."

The human's large gray eyes widened in shock while Kid gasped, covering his small mouth with his even tinier hand. "O-old enemy?" stammered the old man as he turned to glance at me quickly before redirecting his gaze upon Sherry, who remained where she was. "But how? One against so many…" he trailed off as the woman began to walk in a different direction and he followed.

"In any case," murmured Sherry as she turned her head just slightly to see Nazo Nazo Hakase. "I am quite sure you've at least found some other demons that are assisting you in your goal, so please pass on this message: Don't ever attack Lord. If you do, then you're going to invite more trouble than you've already bargained for." At this, the blonde's blank gaze turned into a harsh glare, causing the other demon to slightly whimper as he grasped onto the older man's head. "I want to rely on my own powers to deal with these millennium demons. Do not hinder us with _our_ own goals."

The man stuttered just slightly again as he tried to come up with something ingenious to say, but then he merely shook his head as he walked forward to catch up with Sherry. "But—at least tell us who Lord is exactly!" he said quickly while the blonde halted in her tracks.

The woman sighed unhappily as she glanced to the ground. "To thank you for your information about the millennium demons, I will tell you one thing about Lord." She opened the door while the ningen nodded and put his hat back on, the demon doing the same with his smaller one. "'Lord' is not his real name. The demon responsible for controlling people's minds is named Zophise. He stole the heart of my best friend and savior—he robbed her of her happiness. Keep that in mind that he's _my_ enemy because of that."

Before he walked out the door, the professor gave her an inquiring yet serious look as she spoke and afterwards walked out the door, Kid still atop his shoulders. The demon glanced back at us as Sherry closed the door, sighing once more as she then turned to look at me.

"So, now we know that there have been demons from a thousand years ago freed by Zophise?" said Sherry as she rested her head against the door. I nodded my head.

"Or so this human says," I commented roughly, keeping my gaze a frown. "Obviously, that's what has been going on while we were stuck searching for your memories. These demons have been fighting against the original contestants."

The woman put on a saddened expression as she took a deep breath while running her fingers through her blonde hair, somewhat ruffling it as she stopped and shook her head. "I can't help that, Brago, and you know it."

I smirked. "Or, you were just too weak at the time, so it would have been your fault."

Sherry glared at me before standing up strait again as she began to walk. "That's not funny, don't even go there."

My smirk once again turned into a frown. "I wasn't trying to be _funny_, Sherry. I was stating a _fact_." After that, my bookkeeper shrugged and then rubbed her eyes. "But now I don't think I really need to worry about that, only to get the memories you previously made, and lost, back."

Hearing the words escape my lips, the expression upon the woman's face saddened even more as she turned away. I was somewhat curious as to what was bothering her this time when she suddenly stood up and stared at me, her deep blue eyes gleaming as she clenched her fists.

"I can't _help_ it," she said angrily. "Do you seriously think I wanted this to happen? No! It's completely unfair and wrong, but I can't do a damn thing about it. Are you trying to make things worse for me? It's _not_ my fault that you demons had to come here and ruin everything for us humans—"

Before she could continue, however, I quickly stormed over and halted her speech by tightly wrapping my hand around her jaw, preventing her from talking any further. She squeaked and then tried to squirm out of my grasp, but I tightened my grip to tell her that she had better stop soon, which she did, and immensely calmed down, though her eyes were wide in anticipation and what almost looked like panic.

"_That_, Sherry, is not _my_ fault either," I hissed as I jerked her face closer to mine. "If you don't like it, then do something about it. I'm not here to listen to you bitch." I released my grip from around her jaw and backed up as I watched her tenderly touch her mouth where my hand had been and stare at me in disbelief, though I couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty for my actions. Yet I had to remain angry, I reminded myself, it was the truth I spoke. It _wasn't_ my fault and I didn't want to listen to her complain.

She gently moved her jaw, almost as if testing to see if it was still in place and could work, before she glared at me and spoke, "That was uncalled for."

"What you did was uncalled for. Do you expect me to be the cause for everything, Sherry?"

At this, she paused. "N-no…"

"Then don't," I said bluntly so she'd get the message, though I decided to continue since she could get more of a picture of what I was saying. Perhaps it would be better for her to know more advice, anyway. "For example… I could do whatever I want to you right now. Would you consider it all of my doing if it really happened?"

She blinked before frowning. "Of course I would, Brago! _You're_ the one who would have started it in the first place!"

"You're half right," I said, mirroring her glare. "But if you let me do whatever, then it would partially be your fault as well. There is always the option to stop me."

There was yet another pause as the woman mused over what I said. Finally, she looked up at me and slowly started to ask, "But what if I tried to stop you and it happened anyway?"

I responded, "Then you're not strong enough."

Sherry glowered as she shook her head, clenching her fists just a bit tighter. "That's not a fair answer. Give me something that is!" There was yet again another pause and then she turned to look at me again when I didn't respond, a strange expression formed on her face with her golden brows pushed down. "Say, while we're on the subject… What exactly _would_ you do to me, anyway?"

I smirked. "That's for me to know and you to not."

There was no telling what I really would have done, even if it did happen… Honestly, in my mind, depending on the situation, there could be a chance and time where I would be the weak one. Like when I had fallen for Sherry in that one incident… I was so incredibly weak to let myself touch her in the way I did. At that time, it was the Sherry who was so fragile, and I allowed myself to take action because she was an easy target. Yet… here I wondered what would have happened if it had been the real Sherry, the one before me now. Would I have done what I did because I liked the _strength_ to her?

Just great. I shouldn't even be thinking this, but it would prove me a coward to not. I was no coward, never have been, either; I'd have to face the challenges thrown in my face, as would Sherry. If I really did do something to her, then it would be both of our faults. She would have allowed it, or would have been too weak to stop me, which was a high possibility as well. But then I'd be the weakest out of the two for once, for even doing such a thing…

"That's not fair, either," said Sherry with a frown. "Are you hiding something from me, Brago?"

"No," I responded and turned away, walking in a different direction. "But I think it's time we trained some more. Now that we know for sure what we're up against, the preparation will be needed. Tomorrow morning we'll head out again and travel further to our target, since that human said Zophise wasn't too far away from here."

The woman sighed and nodded her head, slowly walking with me as she grabbed the black book, heading out the door to find a clear space where we could train. "You're right… We really should."

Though as I turned around to face the woman, I could clearly see something was bothering her. I didn't know what, but I wasn't too sure if I'd find out soon or what. She seemed to be somewhat depressed again since the saddened look in her eyes from before returned. Even if her fighting didn't waver, there was still a strange mood about her when not in battle.

Well, she had better solve her problem soon. I certainly didn't want to be the one to have to worry about it. It wasn't my issue, so why should I care?

Or was it mine to bear as well?


	29. Ensnared

_Wow... You all know what tomorrow is, right? o.o Hard to imagine it's been that long already since it happened..._

_Anyway, thought i'd update today since i know i'll be busy doing homework all this week. Speaking of which, i should really start my algebra thing sometime soon... n.n' Meh._

_Anywho, enjoy the 2nd to last chapter! I really need to start working on more stuff for the sequel, i keep coming up with ideas for stuff that happens LATER on in the story. -.-'_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gash Bell, if i did, would you expect me to be writing FANfiction?_

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**Erased**

**Chapter 29**

**Ensnared**

After the little talk with Nazo Nazo Hakase and his wimpy demon partner, Kid, along with the discussion Sherry and I had, the woman and I soon began to train for a few hours until twilight had come and passed. I finally decided that was enough for the moment and that the blonde should get her rest for tomorrow. We would be heading out again, except this time we'd be wandering on our own through the area. No roads, no cars, no nothing.

Not that it was any different from what we usually did, anyway, it was just the plan that I had set up, nothing more. Sherry never complained about the schedule, or at least rarely fussed about it out loud. In the beginning, I had told her to suck it up and push through the pain and sleepless nights, to not let them besiege her.

And it happened, she was no longer consumed with her frustration and tiredness, she went on, keeping her strength and amazing willpower. There were times where I secretly wondered if any other humans could perform better than her.

Though from what I had seen so far with the battles, there weren't. And while I had to admit it, I had to say I was… glad about that.

Not letting my unwanted emotions get the better of me, I grumbled as I shook my head, impatiently waiting for Sherry to hurry up. She was taking an awful long time with her shower this morning and I was feeling more impatient than ever. Could she just _move_ any slower?

When the front door finally opened I glared at its surface and the woman that emerged, dressed up in another one of her elaborate dresses. Though instead of being pinkish to light purple, however, this gown was pure white. She had worn it a couple of times in the past, but not too often. Again, I had to admit, but it was annoying to have to look at _pink_ everywhere we went, so it was an acceptable change.

Sherry's face was somewhat flushed from the heat that was trapped within the bathroom as she stepped out, her golden hair neatly pulled back like it normally was. In her right hand she clutched onto my book tightly.

"You ready yet?" I muttered in pure annoyance while my bookkeeper merely nodded her head slightly.

"Yes," she answered and I noticed that there was something strange about her while she said that. However, this went ignored, though the saddened look in her blue eyes wasn't easy to disregard. Within my own thoughts, I wondered what was bothering her. I was very curious and tempted to ask, but it was like what most human's said about curiosity, so I remained silent.

Nodding my head in confirmation, I then turned around and headed towards the door while Sherry followed close behind. After asking one last time if she had everything with her, just to make sure, she acknowledged that she did and we both exited the door and walked out of the building.

It was about time we left that place; I didn't particularly like staying around in one area for too long if I knew there were other teams nearby. We had been there for about a total of four days, so it wasn't exactly an experience I wished to deal with often. I had known that there was a team nearby, and as we traveled and explored the area, I could start to sense other teams nearby as well. I began to thirst for battles once more.

Both Sherry and I ignored the strange stares a couple of random humans shot at us as we walked off the main road in front of the hotel, aiming towards the sweeping landscapes of the mountains and hills before us. The sun radiated down upon the land but it was still morning, therefore it wasn't too hot. Though that would change as the day progressed, I could already feel the heat increasing. Down here it was much warmer.

So for a while, we were both quite silent as we traveled, climbing up and down hills, finding different ways to get around some of the cliffs and clambering over a couple of rocks if they were in the way. Yet for a very strange reason, I seemed to be walking slower than usual today, or was it just Sherry trying to keep up with me?

Something very unusual was going to happen if it already hadn't, I could feel it.

After a long while, it soon became afternoon. The woman and I had barely spoken a word to another but continued on our way, every so often taking a break so she could take a quick drink of the canteen of water that was brought along. I knew that humans required much more water than demons did, so I didn't object when she asked to stop for just a second. I didn't want her collapsing out of dehydration; that would be very irritating to deal with.

But as we traveled closer to Zophise's location, I could clearly see that something was on her mind. However, I still couldn't figure out what was bothering her, but I found out soon enough.

"Brago…"

She said my name so tenderly and unexpectedly; I despised how it sounded. Turning to look at her, I could see the troubled expression was still there, yet the emotion was more intense and she didn't seem to mind broadcasting her feelings in public. Her gaze averted to mine and she then turned away, pausing momentarily.

"What?" I muttered, keeping my ruby glare upon her, musing over what she could possibly have to say._ If it was so damn important, Sherry, then spit it out already!_

"I, uh…" she hesitated just slightly but continued walking on, grasping onto my book tightly as she stared at the ground, climbing over a rock. "I-I'm sorry for what's happened between us, I really am."

I blinked, turning to look at her with an inquiring look. Well, that was unexpected. "Sorry for _what_?"

At this, the blonde merely shook her head, almost as if trying to push something or another out of her mind. "I said that I was sorry for what's happened between us." Her gaze landed upon mine yet I refused to turn away. Instead, I waited while the woman continued. "I know that you've probably been through some moments you really didn't want to be in for the past couple of months, but I'm sorry. I can't remember anything from that time. I really want to, though. The feeling of something missing isn't that pleasant…"

"Hn," I shrugged, still listening.

"I know you think I'm weak," continued Sherry, picking up her pace since the rocks we had just passed by had gotten in our way, and we were now starting up a hill. "But I'm trying, I'm going to make you the king no matter what happens!"

"I _have_ heard this speech before, Sherry," I grumbled, finally taking my eyes off of her as I stared back to what was in front of me, walking around a bush. "As good as it is to know you're not giving up on our goal, would you just shut up if you have nothing new to say?"

Golden brows pulled into a frown, Sherry sighed as she changed the grasp upon my book and held it in the opposite hand. I watched as she put on an expression that clearly said she was thinking to herself. But when she spoke, her voice was filled with an equal amount of annoyance, confusion, and some other emotion I had yet to recognize. It was strange how I began studying and observing the tones in her voice.

"I do have something, but… I just don't know how to tell you."

At this, I stopped walking, and redirected my gaze to my bookkeeper yet again as she halted in her own tracks as well and stared at me. I put on a serious yet questionable look as I folded my arms across my chest, feeling rather impatient now.

"Then spit it out," I said irritably, not really in the mood to deal with her stalling.

Again, she merely shook her head, seemingly unsure of herself. I was beginning to feel even more annoyed, but I tried to push the thoughts out of my head. It should be nothing to worry about, so there was no reason why I should be listening to her rambling, right?

"Forget it," I murmured and turned around, continuing on our way. "You're not going to say it, so don't even bother."

"But…" Sherry trailed off as she then sighed, afterwards picking up her pace as well to catch up with me again. One more, an uncomfortable silence filled the air around us as we headed down the mountains, neither of us bothering to look at one another often or to even try and start a conversation—not that I really wanted one anyway.

Though about an hour later, we ended up stumbling upon an old cottage out in the middle of the mountains on the bottom of a small, grassy hill. There was no smoke emitting from the chimney and no lights were on. In fact, it gave the impression that someone had abandoned it sometime ago, though it couldn't have been too long since it still appeared to be in good shape.

"Let's check it out," said Sherry quietly and continued forth before I could interject. I grumbled and followed suit, waiting as she lightly rasped the back of her hand upon the front door. No answer.

"Let's just go," I said, "We don't need to be here. It's abandoned."

"If it really is then we can just go in and spend the night," said my bookkeeper as she pushed open the door; it creaked just slightly as it glided to the side, now fully open. Evidentially no one had bothered to lock it.

"Fine," I said gruffly and walked in right after Sherry, glancing around the small room. There wasn't much to look at, though one could definitely tell there used to be people living here. So for some reason or another they just moved out or died. Either way, it was rather empty. Dusty furniture lay neatly across the rooms, and as I peeked into a couple of open doors, I could already see a little more.

At least we didn't have to deal with those stupid humans at the hotels and those damn keys to carry around…

Sherry started to inspect some of the rooms, probably making sure that we were really alone in the place and that there was no unwanted company, namely an animal or two that may have crawled in. I began to wander aimlessly, exploring the space around me. I came to the bedroom first, since the door was open and I didn't really want to be cooped up in the same room with Sherry for the time being, since she was taking a look at the kitchen on the other side of the cottage.

The room was small, somewhat quaint, some would say. A small divan was to the side with a tiny wooden dresser parallel to it. Light magenta curtains were adorned on the windows and sun was pouring into the bedroom, providing the tiny place a calm look.

It was then I noticed on top of the drawer a small picture of two people. Bored and not really interested, I still went over and picked it up just for the heck of it. All I could really make out of it was a dirtied picture of an elder human couple, nothing extremely interesting. I set the picture back down and didn't bother to set it up right again when it fell on its back. It was just a dumb portrait…

Nothing interesting whatsoever.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Night had arisen and Sherry was getting herself prepared for some sleep. I didn't know what was happening, but I had a very strange feeling that something or another was going to occur. Problem was, was that I had no idea _what_. Knowing the two of us, it could be just about anything, but then again, my desire hadn't been fulfilled in a while…. For once, I was actually somewhat nervous. I couldn't let my want control me, but then again, I couldn't allow the anxiety to, either. It was a battle between two particular emotions I truly disliked and didn't want.

Situations like this didn't usually end up so well.

After finding some remaining food that wasn't spoiled within one of the cabinets, the woman had managed to prepare herself something small to eat for her dinner. I wasn't hungry, so I remained within the cottage, musing to myself when Sherry finally decided to go to sleep.

However, before doing so, the idiot just had to bring up the previous conversation from earlier as we both stood uncomfortably in the bedroom.

"Brago… could you please listen to me?" she asked quietly, fiddling with her thumbs somewhat. Sherry had already dressed up in a light pink nightgown that barely went past her knees and soon she gripped her bare arms in unease. I stared at her, noticing the unusual and unwanted feelings growing in the back of my mind. "I really don't know how to say it, but…"

"Then would you just _say_ it?" I asked in an annoyed tone and the woman's golden brows furrowed down. "You're really starting to get on my nerves."

With a sigh, the woman rubbed her eyes with her hands gently as she shook her head, afterwards staring at the ground with a confused expression. "I'm really sorry." Yes, I know, you've told me. "I know I can make things better, but… things just seem really complicated right now." At this, she turned to look up at me, a sincere expression overwhelming her features. "But, I feel that something is holding the both of us back in our goals."

Well, that was something interesting to say. The woman turned her head back down to stare at the floor, continuing to talk as she shifted the weight on her feet.

"I don't know what to do about it," she sighed and looked around, noticing the picture that had fallen from earlier. She walked over to where it lay and set it up right again, a saddened expression on her face. "It's a shame, really. I don't know what to do anymore or what to say…"

"What you'll do is make me the king and what you'll say is the spells," I responded shortly, giving her a look as if she should know better when she turned her attention back to me. "Simple enough?"

With yet another sigh, the woman shook her head, turning her back to the dresser as she glanced around uneasily. "You just don't get it, Brago…. You just don't get it at all. Maybe you do, I don't really know, but…"

I watched in silence as she trailed off and I felt that one unusual sensation tug at my chest again, I hadn't felt this in a while. I hated these situations, I really did—where Sherry started to act all depressed and went on a tirade. It made me feel… strange… I knew I wanted her, but it was harder to not think about it while she was in a weak state.

In other words, she was vulnerable.

Damn it…

Now it almost seemed that the woman wasn't really paying attention to me, she seemed to start… talking off on her own by herself, almost as if I weren't even there to listen to her. She walked around, not really thinking on where she was going as she mused to herself out loud; it was strange to hear what her inner thoughts were and what she really had to say.

"I don't know what's happening between us, I really don't. First we hated each other, then we were just rivals, then friends, and now what are we?" Sherry did a few hand motions, staring at the ground slightly with a sigh. "It's not fair, not at all…"

I felt myself beginning to walk closer to her, not really paying attention to her words now. I was about to make her stop and shut up when I reached out to her but froze as she continued talking, my eyes widening upon hearing a fragment of her words.

"…I was so angry with myself because I couldn't be the real me when it happened…. And then I woke up to find…"

Before she could continue however, I halted her, now very curious.

"What did you say, Sherry?"

Azure eyes widening, the blonde turned to look up at me in surprise. Evidentially she had said something she didn't want me to hear, as she slowly began to back up while I walked forward, inching closer to her until there was nowhere for her to run.

"I—I…"

I began to feel a little angry when she began to stall so I clenched my fists, waiting for an answer. The woman continued to stammer, trying to figure out a way to speak clearly and coherently. She shook her head, almost as if she were about to say 'forget it', but I hastily rammed her into the wall, pinning her arms up against it.

"What is it?" I inquired roughly, staring at the woman with a hard frown. Maybe if she would just tell me, then I could figure out some more things and use those clues to get a step closer to finding the remaining memories that were lost. Not to mention discovering the true mastermind behind all this.

The blonde turned her head away, avoiding my gaze. "I-it's nothing," she murmured. I scowled somewhat before inching closer to her, whispering in her ear harshly.

"Tell me, Sherry. If it's 'nothing', then it won't matter."

"Yes, it will," she spoke quietly, eyes widening as I moved even closer. "Yes, it…"

I halted her speech by brushing my lips against her own, pushing the woman up against the wall even harder, only making my body closer to hers. She gasped and seemed to somewhat relax while my grip tightened. But I had to say this: it was a mistake to quiet her by doing that, because I knew now that I wouldn't be able to stop myself…

"Brago…" the woman breathed my name when I stopped the kiss, but made to go for her neck instead. I still hated, no, _despised_ the feeling, yet I wanted her so badly. As much as I loathed it, I wanted to experience more of it at the same time. I was trapped with a curse. All of my senses were ensnared within this deadly trapped and all coherent thoughts were blocked from my mind. All I could think about was her and my uncontrolled desire.

I kissed her neck a little harder, biting it occasionally while the woman whimpered, resting her hands upon my shoulders. It was strange, was I somehow pleasing the woman? She almost appeared to enjoy this, yet it was hard to determine when she silently cried as I grazed her exposed skin. If she were being enlightened, then I was being controlled. I had been turned weak again, I realized, the both of us were; Sherry was letting me do that one something to her and I couldn't stop myself from its happening.

She let me go up against her neck and shoulders roughly, moaning softly as I kissed her. I went back up to her lips to halt the overwhelming sound, but that only made me want even more from her. My hands started to involuntarily travel up to where the thin straps of her sleeves were and my fingers carefully slipped underneath the slick material, brushing against her skin…

Sherry squeaked suddenly and quickly pulled away while I drew back, watching her with an intent stare as we both breathed deeply, both of our chests rising and falling with each pant. A faint blush grew upon the woman's cheeks as she gave me a strange look, clutching onto her front of her dress tightly.

"Please, Brago… don't do that again…" she gasped, putting on a pained expression. "It's not right, I can't do this with you; I can't be… Just… No!"

I continued to stare at her and was about to speak, when Sherry suddenly shook her head angrily and shouted at me to get out of the room. Right there I actually decided to listen to her, since I really didn't want to be caught in another unwanted moment. That was the last thing I needed, but I supposed that it shouldn't happen for a while now. But still, I knew that my want would forever be there…

What was happening to me? I had actually willingly kissed her that time. Why did I have to change in this way, was this some form of punishment for something?

As I glanced at the closed door to Sherry's temporary room for the night, I couldn't help but sigh in unease. Things were changing suddenly and I couldn't stop it, I wished it didn't, but there was nothing I could do.

Sherry… what was this feeling I had developed around you?


	30. The Next Stand

_Gr. I'm as pissed as hell right now. Stupid parts of FFnet aren't working for me, as some of you may already know. Currently, for the past two days, I haven't been recieving any email alerts for reviews, stories, PMs, or... whatever! I've tried everything, too! Tried changing my email temporarily (didn't even GET the validation thingy for that -.-) and then i sent a complaint about it earlier, but the admins haven't responded/done anything yet, and i certainly don't see a change in the situation...GR! So, sorry if you've sent a PM or whatever and i haven't responded. Most likely i haven't even GOTTEN it... :(_

_(sniffles) Anyway, last chapter... T-T Oh, well. I still have a sequel to write n' plan out! n-n So be happy with that! But i dunno when i'm gonna post it... I wanna get something first to help me out with what i have planned with it. (sighs)_

_Hope that the story has been satisfactory for all of you. :3 I really appreciate all the reviews. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside--!_

_.-. Um, right. Hope to see y'all in the sequel! HAPPY READING! Oh, and by the way, check out my profile every now and then for information regarding the sequel, i've already added the summary to it up. :33_

_Disclaimer: SHADDAP! I DON'T OWN GASH BELL! If i did, i'm sure all of you by know would know what i'd do with a certain dark duo... (cackles evilly)_

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**Chapter 30**

**The Next Stand**

A soft breeze tugged at the tufts of fresh green grass rooted upon the hillside, making them dance and wave as the wind whirled about. Up above, the clouds were forced to lazily drift by across the world, occasionally letting the sun, which had not long ago poked its yellow face out from underneath the horizon, beam down upon the earth. It was now morning and all was quiet for the time being.

I merely lay upon the hillside, simply watching everything as it slowly passed by, letting time slip away on its own as I tucked my arms behind my head, using them as a pillow. The cabin that Sherry and I had stayed in for the night was in clear view, as it was just settled right at the bottom of the hill.

With a sigh, I closed my eyes, musing to myself as the wind softly caressed my face, I kept myself awake when I felt myself somewhat dozing from the warmth of the sun.

Already it was the next day, hard to think two months of pure hell had already passed by so quickly, or not so. At the time being, everything seemed to halt in its tracks and all was settled in a pregnant pause. What would happen next, I wondered, with the search to find Zophise—and Sherry's lost memories?

We had already succeeded in retrieving her original personality again, so that was a plus for us two, but the strange thing was, I had no idea how it happened. Did it simply happen with me stirring up both of our emotions and somehow tempting the original Sherry back out again? Or had it been something else?

A small bug buzzed in my face but I ignored it. Instead, I was too fixed upon my thoughts, pondering more over the events to come.

My relationship with Sherry seemed to be changing as every second passed, I was curious as to what it would lead to next. Was this something positive, or was everything going on all downhill? What caused me to want her so badly, not to mention what caused her to act so strangely after her original persona was regained? Everything didn't seem to make much sense anymore, I wondered if I was really meant to have Sherry as my human partner at times.

Partner.

There was more meaning to that, I realized. Did our king, for some stupid, sick reason, pair us up with the weaklings of this planet, just to see the outcome? Surely he had to do the same thing during his battle, so were the musings of torturing all demons planted into one's mind as soon as they were crowned king?

It was ridiculous to imagine, yet it made sense at the same time. I frowned at this. Then that meant our wonderful _king_ wasn't as great as he was thought to be. Instead he was weak, letting those thoughts manipulate his mind with such ease. Such idiocy… I would be much stronger than that!

But the thoughts of temptation and desire lingered within my mind. I knew that I had my weakness too, my one and only downfall was _her_—the human that I somehow just had to fall for, to want so badly, to want to hold her and claim as my own, my damned human partner, Sherry Belmond.

Damn it, all right! I was one to call the king weak when I couldn't even overcome my own obstacles! Or did the king for some strange reason let the ideas enter his mind without a second thought? It was too odd to imagine. Again, I had done the exact same thing, letting my body move on its own around that woman…

Why, of all things, did desire have to be my failure? What was this unrecognizable feeling I had for her…?

What he hell was it?

Suddenly, something caught my eye, and I turned my head just a little to the side only to see Sherry walking up towards the hill. I couldn't exactly see her too well from here, but I waited patiently as she clambered up the not-too-steep grassy hill, stopping where she was as soon as she reached where I lay. The wind tugged at her golden hair and flowing dress and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. My book was in her right hand.

"Hey, Brago…" she said quietly, turning her head away to gaze upon the horizon. I responded with a 'hn' and let the silence slowly overwhelm the situation. But my wishes were not granted on that turn, because as Sherry slowly started to speak, her voice was quiet, as if she were still partially in musing. "Well… it's been an interesting two months, hasn't it?"

Odd. Was she somehow reading my mind?

Her azure gaze landed upon my own and she then turned away, obviously not knowing too much on what to say. I remained where I was, waiting for her to continue while I began to contemplate on whether to intervene in the conversation or not. I decided to let Fate have its way for once, as I wasn't exactly in the mood to think about it.

"I still don't really know how I want to say much anymore, but…" Sherry began to lower herself down closer to my level and I kept a red eye on her, watching every nimble movement she made. Her lip trembled just slightly as she sat down on the grass, pulling her knees up to herself insecurely. Still, I remained silent. "I think I'll be able to figure it out in due time, though I don't know when that will be."

She turned her head to look upon me again quietly and the woman sighed before tucking another lock of hair behind her ear. The wind still continued to dance about the area.

"Brago, I…" Sherry trailed off, averting her gaze for just a moment as she sighed, closing her eyes temporarily as she let the wind beat against her face without her moving. "…I don't know what to say now. But…"

Turning her gaze upon me, the woman lowered herself to where I lay and I raised my brow just slightly, a little surprised when she allowed her face to hover above mine before gently letting her lips brush against mine. I didn't return the action, but waited as the blonde stopped after a moment, moving back just a little so our faces were no longer touching.

"Sorry…" she mumbled as a saddened look overwhelmed her features. I wasn't quite sure if she was aware of her actions or not, but… the woman slowly started to caress the side of my face, her hand trembling just slightly. "I didn't do that for myself, I did that for you…"

"Hn?"

Sherry sighed sadly, turning her azure gaze to the hand resting upon my cheek. Before she spoke, she fixed her eyes upon mine once more, and trembled. "I know that you're the one who really wants this, I was just giving you a little pleasure there. I wasn't doing it for me."

I rolled my eyes, still not in the mood to start an argument. "I don't see why it matters, now does it?" The way she acted the previous night, how she moaned so softly when I kissed her exposed skin… Mentally, I shook my head.

In any case, I was positive that Sherry was hiding something from me, something of which was her own desire. From reading her body language and studying how she moved and talked, it was quite obvious to tell she was in a similar situation as I.

"It does," she responded defensively, and I rolled my eyes before sitting up and pushing the woman down on her back. Blue eyes widening, Sherry questioned what I was doing but I didn't respond. Instead, I smirked before bending down, kissing her rough enough but not too harsh, as I didn't want to get carried away. I toyed with the woman for a minute before removing myself from her. All the while, the woman had her eyes closed and I could feel her body relax underneath mine. And _who_ said she didn't enjoy this?

"Sorry to bother you, but it doesn't," I whispered harshly in her ear. The blonde shuddered while I sat up, taking in the fresh air and exhaling her intoxicating scent from my nose. I knew I couldn't push it too far—I couldn't let it get out of hand. At least I stopped myself this time.

"Brago," Sherry murmured softly as I stood up, staring down at her figure. "I just… it can't work out, this wasn't meant to be! I don't want to deal with it if it wasn't, so—"

"Shut up already, I don't give a damn," I muttered angrily, glaring sharply at the woman who tried to glare back. "I personally don't care." Ah, but this is where I had to contradict myself—in a way, I did care, as well about my actions. However, things were now too confusing and I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on with myself.

The woman opened and closed her mouth a few times as if to say something but she slowly shut it completely, evidentially having a loss of words as her lips formed a thin line. Her eyes watered just slightly and an awkward silence settled between the two of us. After a while, though, I soon got tired of it, having had enough of these in the past two months already. So I turned around, beginning to walk down the hill, my back facing Sherry.

"I'm heading back down to the cabin," I said, "When you're ready to leave again, come get me."

"But I—" Sherry trailed off, though if she even bothered to say anything else, I sure didn't hear her. I was already halfway down the hill, the soft breeze tugging just a little harder at my cape as I marched down the grassy slope, shoving my hands as deep into my pockets as they could go.

I was silent for the rest of the day and so was Sherry. Neither of us bothered to bring up any of the past conversations for a while. Though as I turned to look up at the sky and consider what happened, I sighed. Things were going by so quickly; first two months, now this, and then the next thing I would know would be that two more months had passed. And before I knew it, the last battle to determine who won the crown would be on, but of course it would be me winning that fight. There was no way it couldn't be.

But still, what would happen in between that timeline until then? What would become of my relationship with Sherry? Would I have gone over the limit by then or would I have given up on it? What would be Sherry's actions, or reactions to my own? How many more spells would we learn?

As I thought about this I suddenly felt different. I felt out of character, like I didn't belong in the shoes I was standing in… that only meant I needed to regain control again. But did I ever have control? Yet I shouldn't just let Fate have its way, I was still around and had the power to make a difference in my future, I wouldn't go down so easily and Sherry had better not, either. Fate would just have to deal with its own plans, not mine, for these would never belong to that malevolent force. Nothing would get in my way.

So what if I let my desires have a little satisfaction again, I would be able to control that one day, or so I would hope. Sherry, in a way, had even admitted to me what her desires sought after—just as the awkward Sherry had done, much to my discontent. I knew not what all of this meant but I would simply call my own feelings for her something else, that of which I would figure out in due time.

I sighed again and blinked, facing my surroundings head on, stopping in my tracks as I let the breeze take my mind away for just a second more. Yes, all in due time things would surely happen.

My realization…

Hers…

And the throne, which awaited me.


End file.
